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Close, Elissa

Nursing

2004

M.S.

The purpose of the nurse legislator study has been to contribute to a greater understanding and awareness of the experience of political activism as perceived and lived by individual RN state legislators and to highlight the need for increased political participation by members of the profession. While literature related to policy and politics is expanding and the call for nurses to engage in politics, public policy making, and political activism grows louder, investigation into the experiences of those who have answered the call and stepped forward into politically active roles remains small. A phenomenological approach was used to gain firsthand accounts of the political experiences of five nurse legislators. None were professional politicians, reflecting the citizen legislature in which they serve. Each, however, has created their own course in political activity through years of involvement in a variety of settings.
Over time, personal growth and cultivation of skills appropriate to the role of political activist have provided the nurses with the political education required to engage in state level political activity. The rich descriptions of these nurse legislators are intended to stimulate the reader's imagination to consider what political activism might be like in their professional practice. Themes and essential elements that emerge from the legislator's narratives also point to ways that others may engage in political activism.