Nurses' political involvement: responsibility versus privilege

Abstract

Nursing apathy toward participation in the political process is pandemic. Never more so than today has the profession needed a strong united stand within the political arena. Political involvement encompasses being knowledgeable about issues, laws, and health policy. Barriers to political activism are thought to encompass several spectra including heavy workloads, feelings of powerlessness, time constraints, sex issues, and lack of understanding of a complex political process. The implementation of a political role for a nurse is based on three levels of commitment including survival, success, and significance. Survival includes individual involvement within communities. Success accepts challenges in addressing injustices especially within the health-care arena. Significant involvement uses visionary nurses toward the betterment of the nurse profession. Strategies for involvement include political awareness, incorporation of course/program expectations on both undergraduate and graduate levels and teamwork. As patient advocates, nurses cannot continue to be spectators in the political arena.