Practice Tip of the Week | Voting is Health: 3 Ways to Engage During Civic Health Month
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
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Posted by: Gabi Nintunze
By Laura Kincheloe, Ed.D., MSN, RN, NE-BC If you are waiting until November to think about elections and voting, you are preparing too late. The Texas Nurses Foundation (TNF) has recently partnered with the Institute for Responsive Government to increase civic engagement among health professionals in the Houston area. As Civic Health Month kicks off in August, there are several opportunities for nurses to engage in their civic duties while also recognizing the impact of their vote. Promote Voter Registration in your Community Vot-ER is an organization actively engaged in civic participation and has recently launched their Civic Health Month Action Kit. Whether you are brand new to civic engagement or actively involved already, this is a great opportunity to get started. Highlights from the tool kit include: - Planning a voter registration drive
- Email templates
- Great T-shirt ideas
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Getting started doesn’t have to be cumbersome. There are many resources available for nurses to find exactly how they want to engage and participate. If you aren’t sure where to start, use these resources to explore more about civic engagement. Take the Civic Leadership Pledge In the last few months TNF has created a Civic Leadership Pledge to support nurses as they engage in their civic duties. While TNF continues to launch initiatives to promote civic health, we encourage nurses to make a commitment to the profession and to themselves. The pledge invites nurses to make one or more commitments to: - Commit to voting in all elections I am eligible to
- Make my voice heard locally
- Share my voting plan with my friends and family
- Host casual civic education events
- Attend CEU credits focused on civics
We invite all Texas nurses to commit to civic participation between now and the November elections. Texas has unique voting requirements. If you missed one of the recent votes, your voter registration status may be inactive. Make sure you check your voter registration status by visiting Texas Secretary of State. If you are not registered to vote in Texas and are interested in voting, you can Register to Vote in Texas | VoteTexas.gov. Take TNF Health & Democracy Online Education Modules TNF recently launched on-demand education emphasizing the importance of civic participation among nurses, especially in Texas. This three-part-series helps nurses understand how to vote, the connection between voting and health, and challenges nurses to understand how the nursing code of ethics relates to voting. There are three modules available for no cost to nurses: These modules start from the beginning of your voting journey. Part 1 covers basic aspects of voting, including how to be a voter. For many, once you turn eighteen years old in Texas, you are excited to be “old enough to vote,” yet few individuals are taught exactly what that means. From voter registration, voting requirements, and what to expect when voting, part 1 covers it all. Part 2 is a collaboration between several organizations to explore how voting is connected to health and why nurses and social workers should exercise their right to vote. Part 3 includes a deep dive in the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics and highlights several ethical provisions that could be connected to voting. For those eligible to vote, one might argue a violation of ethical responsibilities if you are choosing not to vote. Civic engagement is far more than just a vote. Civic engagement is a journey and a process that begins with the self. Reflection of self, setting realistic goals, and using your clinical knowledge and experience to make informed voting decisions, is all civic engagement.
American Nurses Association. (2025). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements (Revised edition). American Nurses Association. Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice (8th ed.). Cengage Learning. Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning. Vandenhouten, C. L., Malakar, C. L., Kubsch, S., Block, D. E., & Gallagher-Lepak, S. (2011). Political participation of registered nurses. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 12(3), 159–167. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527154411425189 Woodward, B., Smart, D., & Benavides-Vaello, S. (2016). Modifiable factors that support political participation by nurses. Journal of Professional Nursing, 32(1), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2015.06.005 |
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