Being Politically Active: One Nurse’s Perspective
Tarik Khan, RN stands with Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA) at a press conference.
When I graduated nursing school in 2005, my fellow graduates and I took a pledge to care for the ill, “sparing no effort to conserve life, to alleviate suffering, and to promote health.” I believe that supporting policies that help to improve the lives of patients and the conditions in which we care for them is very much in line with the objectives of our nursing oaths. For the past two years, I have been working with Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, and most recently the American Nurses Association to fight for issues that affect my patients. Most recently, I have gotten involved with the fight for affordable, high-quality health care for all Americans.
The passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act in the House of Representatives this fall meant a lot to me because as a registered nurse, I have seen firsthand how our current system works better for insurance companies than it does for patients. While we like to believe that, as nurses, we are guiding our patient’s treatment, health outcomes are all too often bound by what our patient can afford, or by what their insurance company is willing to pay for. The ANA supports the philosophy that health care is not a luxury, but a basic right. As Thomas Jefferson once said, our government is the world’s best hope. However 46 million of our fellow Americans are without healthcare and the number of uninsured grows everyday. In fact, America is the only Western industrialized nation that does not deliver a basic level of health care to all of its citizens.
Tarik Khan, RN representing the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA) and the ANA at a press conference with Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA).
Three days after the passage of house bill, I was asked to represent the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association and the ANA at a press conference with Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-Pennsylvania). It was a special thrill to stand beside Congressman Murphy, before his constituents, to explain from a nursing perspective why the bill was so important. I told the audience that with the bill, the balance of power greatly shifted away from the interests of insurance companies back to the needs of our patients. Under this bill, I explained, insurance companies would be held in check, such as being capped on how much they could charge for out of pocket expenses, and would be prohibited from the practice of denying coverage based on a patient’s preexisting condition. And I shared with them a personal story, about witnessing the emotional stress a recuperating patient endured after being told that his insurance had denied payment for his medical coverage. The speech was well received by Congressman Murphy’s constituents and the experience was one of the highlights of my young nursing career.
As members of one of the most respected professions in the nation, nurses should feel encouraged to get involved with politics. Lawmakers take special note of what we have to say because we serve on the front lines of health care delivery. We are looked to for our opinions on health care issues and our experiences help shape policy. And their constituents listen to us as well. Whenever I am campaigning for a candidate or a cause, I notice a special difference in response whenever I preempt my comments by stating that I am a nurse and people are willing to listen to me and hear me out.
I believe that the pledge that we took at our commencement applies to our duty to our community. As nurses we can be very proud of the ANA’s continued leadership in bringing health reform to our country. As ANA president Rebecca Patton has pointed out, the ANA was the first health care organization to support Medicare when it was created over 40 years ago. Today, the ANA joins hundreds of national organizations in supporting the vote by Congressman Murphy and his fellow representatives in Congress for meaningful health insurance reform. I urge nurses to live out their nursing oaths in its true measure by working for the ANA’s cause in their community.
Tarik Khan, RN
Tags: health care reform, January 2010, Pennsylvania State Nurses Association
