Metropolitan Washington Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc.

The 2008 Nurse in Washington Internship was a roaring success - that according to the approximately 100 attendees this year. Participants represented numerous nursing specialties including 5 participants in occupational health nursing. Participants were treated to 2 ½ stimulating days of tutorials on the Federal legislation, battle stories from the front lines told by a panel of high-level legislative aides, advice from a wise and gracious panel of expert nurse advocates, the inside scoop on nursing and health legislation from nurse Representative Lois Capps (CA) and Representative Steven C. LaTourette (OH), and the pièce de résistance, a visit to Capitol Hill to our respective Representative's and Senator's offices to advocate for nursing workforce development and education legislation, increased funding to the National Institute of Nursing Research, and to ask that they shore-up nursing in the form of comments in the Congressional Record supporting the nursing profession.

AAOHN was admirably represented by 5 of the most beautiful nurses at the meeting, all of whom enthusiastically carried the message to the Hill of the importance of OHNs to this Nation?s workforce and employers. AAOHN nurses were: Bonnie Corliss from Connecticut (USPS); Kathryn Emanski from Pennsylvania (Sanofi Pasteur); Cheryl Strunk from Pennsylvania (CHS Medical), Lorraine Pacha from Iowa (Genesis Health), and Claudia Beach from MWAOHN.

The best advice we received from the Representatives on this sojourn was that we are most effective if we go to meetings held by and have appointments with our Representatives in our home districts. They want to hear the stories behind what we are advocating for and that patients are counting on us to advocate for them. So we should use these natural skills to influence legislation by telling them the stories from the trenches. The legislators also want to hear good news stories. Nurses are natural politicians, always negotiating with and gaining acceptance of our recommendations by our patients. Sending e-mails instead of hardcopy letters is becoming the preferred communications method because, to quote Representative LaTourette, ?The decontamination process causes mail to take 2 months to get to Congress and the letters resemble the Dead Sea Scrolls when opened.?

Authors of the textbook, Policy and Politics in Nursing and Health Care, Mary W. Chaffee and Judith K Leavitt made themselves available to sign their book. Many nurses at the Conference recommended reading it. You may call 1-800-545-2522 for more information about the text.

Next year ? sign up early and come to Washington for this fascinating exploration of and initiation into the mighty struggle to keep nursing legislation alive and help fulfill patients? hopes for improved health care legislation! Plus, it is just plain fun!