Nurses head to campaign school to run for office

Written by Rose Hoban

Every year, nurses at the top of the list The most trusted profession.

On the other hand, politicians rank at the bottom in terms of public trust.

That fact didn’t deter nearly 30 nurses from participating in a program earlier this year to prepare them to run for public office. 34 nurses gathered in Durham to participate. politics of healingis a campaign school for nurses who are interested in contributing to the community beyond the clinics, hospitals, and medical offices where many nurses work.

While Medicaid expansion and other health-related issues are hotly debated in North Carolina, health care professionals remain in the seats of power where important decisions that impact the daily lives of North Carolinians are made. It’s not that I’m doing it. .

“It wasn’t until I became a nurse that I realized how important it is to pay attention and monitor what’s going on in state and federal legislatures, because it directly relates to my practice. ” said Kimberly Gordon, one of the nurses. Founder of healing politics.

The event was held over three days. Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy, we covered topics such as campaign planning and fundraising, communications and media strategy, ethics, and getting out the vote. It is touted to be the first program in the country with the specific aim of motivating, inspiring and training nurses and midwives to vote for and against their workplaces.

(Disclosure: This reporter taught a section on effective media interactions at Campaign School. )

Gordon, a certified nurse anesthetist from Winston-Salem, wasn’t very involved in the political process until she became a graduate student. She was studying for her doctoral degree at Yale School of Nursing and worked with her supervisor, Lisa Summers, who is now retired, to create the curriculum as part of her capstone project. .

“Healthcare is not a solitary sport. We work in teams. We act on evidence and value science. We have a process. Nurses follow the evidence. We evaluate the problem, we make a plan, we execute it, and then we come back and say, “Did that work?” Summers said. “That’s our idea, and it’s a great idea to bring to Congress.”

At a time when politics are more divided than ever, Gordon and Summers believe that nurses have a meaningful message that transcends partisan and societal divides. That’s part of why they call the campaign school “Healing Politics” and are talking to nurses about their potential role in policy-making.

Create a campaign proposal

One of the most difficult prospects for potential candidates is fundraising. In one workshop session, participants were asked to pair up, look each other in the eye, shake hands, promote their campaign, and ask for donations.

“Hello, I’m So-and-so. I’m a nurse who’s running for town council because I have a vision for our town to be a healthier place to live. Please make a $50 donation. Is this OK?” was a sample pitch script.

Some participants requested much larger donations. But for many, even asking that question was a daunting task.

“I don’t feel comfortable talking about myself or bragging about my accomplishments,” said Dolly Kogut, a nurse in Winston-Salem. Kogut said the lesson she learned in campaign school is that she’s not ready to run yet.

“If I wanted to go into politics, it would be at the local level, but not too much,” Kogut added.

Some decided to launch a campaign. Peggy Wilmoth, a Chapel Hill resident, served in the military for 35 years and stayed out of politics until she was promoted to major general.

“I retired six years ago, and that’s when I was able to start making moves to become more involved in politics and seriously consider running for president,” Wilmoth said. “My biggest takeaway so far has been practicing asking myself questions and explaining why I want to run.”

Holly Springs resident Cybill Shepherd Harrington said she had active interactions with the governor’s office during Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration, and that experience led her to believe she could make a positive difference in the election. He said it became.

“I don’t want to just complain about things,” Harrington says. “I want to be able to get things done and also have a solution to it.”

Specialized campaign school

Campaign School is designed to give political novices the skills and knowledge they need to run for their first election. North Carolina has long had a popular campaign school among independents. Political Leadership Institute, began in Wilmington in 1974. Although unique in this state, such programs have proliferated across the country over the past few decades.

“Right now, there are over 700 campaign schools, schools for women, schools for veterans, schools for LGBTQ and underrepresented populations, and these are new schools that we’re really starting to see.” ,” Gordon said. “And most political parties in each state will be running their own parties.”

North Carolina is somewhat unique in that it already has five nurses in the state legislature, but campaign consultant James Haggar said it is becoming more common. His home state of Minnesota has four nurses in Congress.

Nurses’ training and attitude “make them good elected officials and good candidates,” Hagar said.

“They have the toughness and the ability and the willingness to work hard,” said Haggar, who led nurse and state Rep. Erin Murphy’s unsuccessful 2018 campaign for Minnesota governor. “They have integrity. And they are used to working in teams, and they are used to tackling challenges and finding good solutions and good results. They are dedicated and passionate about their work. He cares about things and he’s not afraid to dig into things.”

Haggar added that this type of willingness to work on a team is very needed in today’s political climate and makes him a desirable candidate.

Various citizen participation ideas

Gordon said so. american medical association While campaign schools for doctors have been around for decades, there is no equivalent for nurses. That’s why Gordon and Summers, who conducted research on nurse representation in elected office at Yale University, decided to start their own campaign school.

The first “Politics of Healing” workshop was scheduled to be held in May 2020, but the pandemic derailed those plans. So the two women waited and dug in. Meanwhile, Summers’ connections beyond academia came in handy, especially at Duke University, where he had ties to political science professors. nick kearns.

“His body of research focused on nontraditional candidates and why more nontraditional candidates were not elected,” Summers said.

Kearns will facilitate the implementation of healing politics at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, and Kearns, Gordon, and Summers will study the participants’ work over the next five years. Their research shows that the measure of success is not just running for office.

“They may also become more involved in civic activities, such as joining nursing associations or community organizations,” Gordon said. “We want them to vote and at the same time advocate for professionals and patients. That’s why we’re looking at different metrics of what success looks like.”

Some of the preliminary results are surprising, Gordon said.

“What we’ve learned is that when women go to campaign school, they become more civically engaged, even if they decide not to run,” Gordon added.

That could be finding and winning a seat on the state board of health, joining a town task force, or volunteering for board service.

At least two of the original program’s participants plan to seek elected office in 2024, Gordon said, including one of five Durham class nurses in North Carolina. 1 person included.

“Even if we don’t get 30 out of 34 people to run, I feel like we’ve already made a big difference,” Gordon said.