It’s Not Just Your Boss Who Needs to Listen to the Nurses
If you’ve been a NYSNA member for more than one minute, you have probably seen our signs, petitions, speak-outs and more calling on healthcare executives to “Listen to the Nurses.” We believe in this principle so strongly because the people who perform the work and who have the expertise should always have a seat at the table when decisions are made. When nurses and healthcare professionals have a voice in our working conditions and patient care conditions, those conditions improve.
And when we’re not even consulted on major decisions? Most of us can think of at least one time when we didn’t have a say and the outcome was less than ideal — even terrible. Maybe staffing cuts had a terrible ripple effect throughout the hospital. Maybe new construction made it more difficult to deliver patient care. Maybe a workplace violence initiative went nowhere because it didn’t address NYSNA members’ concerns.
Whom Will They Listen To?
What’s true of our bosses is especially true of our policymakers and politicians. They are even further disconnected from where the work happens. Often, they are making decisions that impact thousands or even millions of people with very limited knowledge of an issue. If you ever wondered how these outlandish ideas about solving the nurse staffing crisis through artificial intelligence, virtual nursing or the Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact make it into state or federal bills year after year, now you know. These policymakers are not listening to the frontline workers. They are listening to our bosses, CEOs and wealthy donors who leverage their lobbying power on behalf of their own profits — not what’s best for patients.
Our members sometimes ask me, “Why do nurses need to be involved in politics?” I tell them because our elected officials really need to listen to the nurses too! If politicians are making decisions about our patients, our practice and our healthcare system, we as nurses and healthcare professionals should have a voice. It’s not about partisan politics; it’s about our principles.
Our principles as patient advocates require us to speak up and advocate for our patients beyond the bedside when necessary. The Code of Ethics for Nurses clearly states that nurses have a responsibility to advocate for patients as well as practices, policies and legislation to promote social justice and eliminate health inequities.1
So much of our political conversation has gotten divisive and even nasty, so I understand that not everyone will feel comfortable diving into political action. But using your knowledge and expertise to improve healthcare is not divisive or about any political party — it’s about upholding our professional responsibility to advocate for patients.
Nurses Lead With Our Principles
Being part of a union means that you’re never out there having to advocate all on your own. You have your colleagues’ support and your union’s resources to make an impact. When we travel to Albany or Washington, D.C.; make phone calls; or knock on doors before an important election, we are flexing our union power to make sure our elected officials hear our patient advocacy loud and clear. We are holding elected leaders accountable for their decisions that impact our patients, practice and communities.
Every year, NYSNA’s elected leaders come together at our annual Convention to vote on a policy and legislative platform.2 Our platform has remained remarkably consistent for years, because it’s based on NYSNA nurses’ guiding principles of:
1) Protecting patients and maintaining the quality of healthcare in New York and nationally; 2) guaranteeing high-quality medical care and treatment is a human right; 3) protecting the rights, working conditions and economic security of nurses, healthcare providers and all working people; 4) ensuring democratic input and control of the allocation of healthcare resources in our communities; 5) actively addressing social determinants of health and their impact on health outcomes of patients and communities; 6) protecting our democracy; and 7) preparing for and responding to COVID-19 and other pandemics and public health crises.
I encourage all members to read through the full text of our platform. Our Convention resolutions are more than just words on paper — we aim to put them into action. And when we put our principles into action, we have seen that we can win.
When the fight for healthcare justice seems uphill or the tone of the political debate makes me frustrated, I like to keep NYSNA nurses’ principles in mind. I remind myself that if we do not demand that elected officials listen to the nurses, they will only listen to our bosses, and the change we want to see will fall further out of reach.
To get more involved in our political action work, email politicalteam@NYSNA.org.
SOURCES
1 https://codeofethics.ana.org/provisions
2 https://bit.ly/2024convresolutions