Enthusiasm and Inspiration at Virtual Nurse Day at the Capitol

By Kanaka Sathasivan, MPH

Over the last year, nurses have faced tremendous challenges, and all Texans have been affected by drastic changes to daily life. From reusing PPE to trying new food delivery options to attending virtual school from home — change was the only constant. However, even during this adversity, nurses were a shining beacon of hope for people around the world. Their dedication, compassion, expertise and leadership were thrust into the spotlight, and to cap it all off, nurses were again named the most trusted profession by Gallup for the 19^th time!

Following that historic year came the 87^th Legislative Session, which — with skeleton crews, virtual meetings, slower processes, and fewer bills — looks little like previous years. Likewise, Nurse Day at the Capitol could no longer take place as it had previously. In 2019, Texas nurses spent two days together in person, learning about the legislative process, sharing their policy journeys, meeting their lawmakers, exploring the capitol and networking with peers from across the state.

For 2021, leadership at Texas Nurses Association knew we had to meet a daunting challenge. How could we rally nurses without bringing them to Austin? How could we show legislators the political force of nurses without flooding the capitol chambers? How could we motivate nurses without seeing their faces?

Shared Purpose

As we focused on providing quality content to educate and empower, we did not anticipate how participants would reciprocate. From flooding the chat with ideas, making new connections, brainstorming approaches and asking thoughtful questions — attendees quickly demonstrated their passion and showed us that the speakers were inspiring them to think in different ways.

Each session on Feb. 8 brought a new energy to the event. When our keynote speaker, John Hellerstedt, MD, was called into the White House, Stephen Pont, MD, MPH, stepped in to give nurses an overview of the Texas Department of State Health Services’ response to COVID and the current state of the pandemic in Texas. As attendee Kim Belcik stated: “The pandemic really laid bare the cracks in our system. I think we have so many really smart people in Texas that we can work on this.”

Belcik also noted that TNA provides a way for nurses to contribute to the statewide response to COVID. “Because of my membership in TNA, Dr. Bumpus brings my voice to the table. For example, having a voice in the distribution and acquisition of vaccines in the state of Texas. And [a voice for] the people I care for.”

From questions about equity to long-term care to vaccines, nurses quickly proved that above all, they care about Texans. They see how many people have been hurt by COVID, and they are determined to do their part to help.

Untapped Force

Serena Bumpus, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, followed with an interactive session on the role nurses play in health policy. The show-stopping moment of her presentation came when she asked attendees to estimate how many nurses and doctors there are in Texas, and subsequently, how many of each profession belongs to a professional organization. In one chart, she showed nurses the stark difference in participation.

Discussion and questions rapidly followed in the chat. Some questioned the high price of membership,  while others pointed out it was relatively low and that physicians pay hundreds more. Many stated employers, nurse leaders and educators don’t do enough to encourage professional memberships and started brainstorming ways to change the status quo.

Jennifer Cook suggested employers should “create a budget line item for professional development, including professional memberships.” Edtrina Moss shared that two health systems she worked in included involvement in professional nurse organizations in their annual evaluation and career pathways. Carly Grzehowiak stated, “I think a more structured framework needs to exist for organizations to encourage employee involvement in nursing associations.”

Another common point of consensus was that the culture of medicine provides an incentive to join. Susanne Hernberg stated: “Physicians have bios on websites and being active in the TMA is … clout…. Nurses’ resumes are less ‘visible’ and thus there isn’t the sense of urgency … [or] perspective of keeping up with our peers.... We need to … more highly incentivize engagement, where being part of the TNA is the ‘norm’ the way it is expected for physicians.”

Valuable Representation

The final two sessions of the event featured TNA lobbyist Kevin Stewart, JD, and a legislative panel moderated by Todd Bailey, MSN, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, and featuring Rep. Donna Howard and Rep. Stephanie Klick. Nurses heard about upcoming bills on issues ranging from workplace violence to surgical smoke safety, along with how two nurses use their experience and skills to serve Texans in the state House of Representatives. Attendees were especially delighted to hear that Rep. Klick had been named chair of the Public Health Committee late last week.

Renee Yarbrough-Yale summed up their achievements best: “When nurses win, patients win!”

Many attendees brought up their own concerns about the state of nursing education, building the nursing workforce, educating the public on vaccines, and reaching both minority populations and rural populations. One theme that emerged over and over was increasing access to care for patients, a multifaceted problem that Stewart, Howard and Klick also prioritize.

While this year’s Nurse Day was unlike anything we had done in the past, we were blown away by the engagement, enthusiasm and energy we saw from all the attendees. As this legislative session continues and in future years, we look forward to working tirelessly with nurses to make policy change happen!