Nurse, Activist, Nurse-Activist?

Abe Oudshoorn, RN, PhD

Social Media in Research

The Call

Nursing is a Political Act – The Bigger Picture – CNA 2000• “As practitioners who strive to provide holistic,

comprehensive care, we must understand that health is political – and that to be advocates may require us to become political activists.”

• “It is not difficult to see how acting on a political level is a natural extension of the essence of nursing – of caring.”

The Allies

Who Affects Change?

Changing Policy

• Agency or government

Agenda Setting

Issues Management

Agenda Setting

Speaking Out

Through Staff

Agenda SettingPolicy Formulation

From the Ground Up

Agenda SettingPolicy FormulationPolicy Implementation

The Practicing Nurse Advocate• “When nurses find themselves unable

to nurse as they had envisioned.” McIntyre and McDonald

The Administrator Nurse Advocate

• A spoke in the wheel of power• Budgets are moral documents• Whistleblowing

The Academic Nurse Advocate

Risks

• Frustration/burnout• Co-optation• Personal risk• Loss of objectivity• ‘Pigeon-holed’

Reward

Questions