ANA\C The Nursing Voice Summer 2019

anacalifornia.org  .  13 Return to the Roots of the Nursing Profession: Advocacy Our professional identity and purpose are dependent upon our commitment to advocacy. Laura Chechel, MSN, RN, CNS, CCRN-CSC-CMC Nurse Manager, UC San Diego Health Danisha Jenkins, MSN, RN, CCRN, NEA-BC Nurse Manager, UC San Diego Health Hillcrest As nurses, we have a continual obligation to assess the state of our country and society. It is clear that we are a nation that is cleaved and broken. The ramifications of economic, racial and health disparities continue to intensify as issues of homelessness, substance dependence, and lack of mental health resources plague our communities. Vulnerable populations are becoming further marginalized and dangerous rhetoric is finding safety in the open. Overt ideologies of white supremacy and nationalism plague the airwaves, and attempts to restrict access to health care, shelter, and even refuge and asylum continue to be brought forward by legislators and policy makers. The science is clear, harm is being done to vulnerable popula- tions in our community. As the most trusted profession for the last 16 years, the nursing voice is valued and should be used to advocate for the marginalized and vulnerable. As I write this from San Diego, thousands of asylum seekers are attempt- ing to seek asylum in the United States just a few miles away from where I sit. Black mothers in the United States are dying in childbirth at three times the rate as white women (Martin, 2017). Last year, 689 innocent people were gunned down in 19 separate mass shootings. The list could go on–there is no shortage of disproportionate harm and therefore no shortage of opportunity for nurses to speak up and advocate to minimize suffering and promote safety and healing. Boswell, Cannon, and Miller (2005) stated that nursing apathy to political participation and advocacy is rampant. In order to understand the critical necessity of calling out injustices, we can look to history at the ramifications of nurses choosing to stay silent. In Nazi Germany, nurses remained under the ideolo- gy that obedience and lawfulness was part of their professional ethics, and they should remain apolitical. Nurses were not only silent about the atrocities taking place but ultimately partici- pated directly in the abuse. This occurred through continued denial of the true fate of their patients, and the causative factors of their suffering (Nathanson & Grodin, 2000). Nurses exist with the people and for the people and are responsible for health optimization of our patients and our communities. This means that nursing will never be neutral and will always be value laden. Nursing is a force of social significance. Nurses are never action-less bystanders, and we have but two choices: advocate for the promotion of health or do harm. We must take ownership of our profession’s history so that we can be ever cognizant of signs of inhumanity. We must identify and call out complacency and question traditional practices of obedience and how it impacts the well-being of the patients we care for (Steppe, 1992). Our professional identity and purpose are dependent upon our commitment to advocacy. This is the thread that binds our sci- ence and our practice. We must unite around our commitment to advocate and care for the most vulnerable, the most margin- alized, the most broken. It is then that we become more than obedient task doers. The requirement for nurses to advocate and speak out runs through the veins of our profession, and we must return to the roots of a profession with an unwavering commitment to stand up, speak out, and bring healing. References Boswell, C., Cannon, S., Miller, J. (2005). Nurses’ political involvement: Responsibility versus privilege. Journal of Professional Nursing. 21(1), 5–8. Martin, N. (2007). Black mothers keep dying after giving birth. NPR. Retrieved from www.npr.org/2017/12/07/568948782/black-mothers-keep-dying-after-giving-birth-shalon- irvings-story-explains-why Nathanson, J., Grodin, M. (2000). Nursing in Nazi Germany. The Lancet. 356(9244), 1859. Steppe, H. Nursing in Nazi Germany. Western Journal of Nursing Research.14(6). 744–753. Political Corner