International Council of Nurses [ICN Nurse Politicians Network]

The following issues have been identified with regards to status of women and nurses politicians worldwide:

For all these reasons, ICN established the NPN given the important role nurse politicians have to play in influencing health and social policy.

The ICN Nurse Politician Network (NPN) is designed to serve as a forum for elected and appointed nurse politicians to communicate. As it, NPN is the international link for nurse politicians to exchange information and learn from each other. It can assist in the mentoring of new and/or aspiring nurse politicians.

ICN will beneficiate from the network which represents an access to skilled lobbyists and policymakers who can offer advice and help identify key current and future issues.

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR - Asta Möller, Chair of the Nurse Politicians Network

“Welcome to the ICN Nurse Politicians Network page! As Chair of the Network and a nurse politician, I am pleased to be part of this new initiative, one I believe will bring benefits to ICN and nurse politicians alike.

For many years, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has had a strong interest in developing and strengthening the nursing influence in health policy. This includes encouraging nurses to take an active part in policy making and political decision-making processes.

The past few years have seen more nurses enter politics and today several serve as Ministers of State, members of parliament, and as provincial and state legislators as well as in positions in local government. I personally became involved in 1999 when I was asked by the Prime Minister of Iceland if I would be interested in running for a seat in Parliament. As things evolved I was elected a member of the Icelandic Parliament, Althingi, in May 1999. It continues to be a stimulating and satisfying experience, and there is no doubt that my preparation as a nurse and my experience as President of the Icelandic Nurses Association - and as an ICN Board member - have served me well.

The Network offers nurse politicians, often working in isolation, a vehicle to share knowledge and experience and exchange and test ideas. As well it provides new and experienced politicians with the opportunity to develop mentoring relationships.

The Network is primarily a safe place for nurse politicians to meet. Aside from this page, nurse politicians have access to a restricted space for information sharing and exchange.

In addition to being a vehicle of support to current politicians, the Network members are invited to:

I hope to meet many nurse colleagues through the Network and look forward to Network members sharing ideas and advice with the broader ICN membership.

MEMBERS OF THE NPN STEERING GROUP

Asta Moller, Chair of the Network
Asta Möller has contributed considerably to nursing and health care in Iceland as a nurse and politician. She served as president of the Icelandic Nurses Association between 1994 and 1999. She became involved in politics when she ran and won a seat in Parliament in May 1999. Since then she has sat on various committees and, since 2005, has chaired the Icelandic Delegation of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Aste served as a Board member of ICN and subsequently as Second Vice-President.

Mo-Im Kim
Mo Im Kim, ICN Past President, is recognised internationally for her contribution as a practitioner, educator, politician and policy leader. She is considered the architect of Korea’s primary health care system. In 1981, she became the first nurse elected to the Korean parliament where she influenced national health policy and legislation. She also served as the Minister of Health and Welfare and was President of the Korean Women’s Political Caucus in 2003.

Laila Davoy
Laila Davoy, a former ICN Board member, has a long career in government and politics. She served as a State Secretary and Deputy Minister before becoming President of the Norwegian National Nurses Association. She served as an ICN Board Member 1997-1999 and in government was twice appointed Minister: Minister of Labour and Government Administration and Minister of Children and Family Policy. Since October 2005 she is an elected member of the Norwegian parliament.

Rowaida Al-Ma’aitah
Rowaida Al-Ma'aitah is a Senator in the Upper House of the Jordanian Parliament and also serves as a consultant on health and social development to HRH Princess Muna Al-Hussien and as a member of the international women parliamentarians steering committee on child protection. She formerly served as Minister of Social Development, Minster of Government Performance, and President of Hashemite University as well as Vice President and Secretary General of the National Council for Family Affairs.

MEMBERSHIP

Members need to have access to the internet and, presently, to be able communicate in English.

To become a member of the NPN, nurses elected or appointed at national and supranational levels you will need to fill in the form below.

EXPERIENCES OF NURSE POLITICIANS

SPEECHES/PAPERS

Influencing Health Policy, Asta Möller speech, NPN Chair
ICN Council of National Representatives in Copenhagen, Denmark in June 2001

Ten years ago, then a fairly new president of a nurses association in Iceland, I wrote an article on Nursing and Politics in our Nursing Journal. The main purpose of the article was to encourage nurses as individuals and as a profession to take an active part in policy making and the political decision making process and by doing so, contribute their knowledge and expertise to mould the society they live in. I stated that nurses have an obligation to do so for the benefit of the society. I argued that the nursing profession in its research and in its work with clients in various settings, is in a unique position to get valuable insight in the needs, expectations and interests of the people who are the most vulnerable in the society, the sick, the disabled, the elderly, the poor, young families, drug addicts and alcoholists to mention a few. This gives nurses an exceptional opportunity to experience and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the basic societal systems. I stressed that if nurses would not take the torch and influence health and social policy, others would eagerly and happily step in to do so, for the loss of the society.

When I wrote that article in 1991, I could not in my wildest dreams, imagine that eight years later I would be elected to my national Parliament and in the position of having to prove my case, being placed at the core of the political arena.

In my presentation today I have decided to share with you some thoughts on nursing involvement in influencing health policy and political decision making. The background paper on the issue has been distributed and you should have it before you for your reference in the discussions in this forum, and in my presentation I will touch on some of the points made there.

Politics affects all aspects of life. Political decisions determine the quality of life of people, their human rights and security, the economy of a nation which affects every household; housing and working conditions, education, social support, health and well being of individuals and families. Strategies to affect these determinants of the standard of living of people involve policy development and political action.

The nurses holistic view on their role and responsibility in the health care system and their knowledge based on research and experience is valuable for the ongoing evolution of the health care system. For this knowledge to affect the provision of health care it must reach the policy makers and health policy must reflect the knowledge generated by research and experience. Many of the most significant advances in public health policy can be made only in the context of political debate and it is in this forum that experience and research are transmitted to policy. It therefore calls for active participation on the nurses behalf in political action and policy development, either as a policy maker her- or himself or in cooperation with policy makers. (1)

Rains and Carroll (2000) stated that “..there has never been a greater need for nurses to get involved in the political and policy process. Nurses are needed to ensure that shrinking resources are best used for the health of the nation, to find ways to provide affordable access to health care for all and to promote the debate about the relationship between broad social factors and health” (2)

Public funding for health care services is in constant competition with funding for other sectors of the society, some equally important, such as social services and the educational system, some less. Decisions taken in the political arena decide the distribution of funds to different sectors of the society and also the division of funding and therefore priorities between various sectors of the health care system. In order to influence decisions and safeguard the interests of nurses, the profession and the service they provide, nurses will have to influence decisions on all levels of the society, from top governmental level to “the floor level” in order to preserve the priorities and projects the profession emphasises, including their own affairs such as working environments and salaries. To to so we will have to place ourselves in a position to get message through by using information, personal and political connections and other traditional and innovative political methods.

But what are the nurse contributions to health policy and in politics in general.

Discussion on the importance of nurses involvement and active participation in the political arena and in policy making is not new. Actually, the discussion have been on for decades, with a slow progress, probably though slightly accelerating recently due to increased self-esteem and new understanding, interest and opportunities of nurses, as well as women in general, to take active part in policy making and politics.

Nurses are the largest group of health professional and most often also the largest (individual) professional group of women in most countries. That gives them an impressive and important power base, the nursing profession has to value and make use of.

One senior nurse-politician was quoted saying that becoming involved in the political process to promote sound policy for nursing practice and health care is an extension of the nurses role as a patient advocate. She said that the patients we care for deserve safe, quality care and as we continue to face political policy on health care issues that affect nursing practice and patient care we must make our voices heard. (3)

Another nurse politician was quoted saying that “ Nursing has something special to bring to policy. Health policy is nursing practice” (4) Unfortunately, however, I must say that this is a cliché. Affecting health policy is usually not included when nursing practice is described. Nurses do not regard health policy as an integrated component of their profession and it is not a natural part of their professional identity. I think I can generalise and say that nurses have not yet realised how strong their powerbase actually is.

It has been stated that nurses bring a unique quality to politics. In their research on 27 nurse politicians, Gebbie, Wakefield and Kerfoot, conclude that nurses bring a special knowledge and skills to the policy arena, which they have gained in their nursing education and in practice. They specify clinical observation skills along with interpersonal communicational skills that enable them to assess and analyse situations, to face different interests, to reduce tensions and solve conflicts and to mobilise people. They say, and I quote:“ If you know how to get kids to take their medicine, you can work with a lot of people”. The quality of adding real life experiences to quantitative information when health policy decisions are also taken as valuable assets of the profession. Furthermore, the similarities of the basic process of nursing, which is a problem-solving process, to the basic process of democratic government; that is gathering information on a problem, to identify probable actions or solutions to the challenges presented, and to get widespread support and actions from many actors to get the problem solved. These similarities of the working methods are to the advantage of nurses in policy development and politics. Other important skills mentioned are the ability of nurses to be flexible, to have an overview of a situation, to be prepared for the unexpected, to work under pressure and to balance competing priorities. These qualities are inseparable parts of the nursing practice. (5) These are qualities that nurses have, that are also valuable in another context and nurses will have to make use of it.

It is of concern that nurses are reluctant to reveal their identity as nurses when they present themselves as politicians. It has been articulated that nurses are sometimes perceived as being on less intellectual than other professionals, so that their input is discounted. Furthermore it is reported that nurses do not seem to value their own and other nurses´ political involvement and input and therefore weaken their collective power. Sadly, I have to confess that I believe that these scenarios are somewhat true and point out that many nurse politicians do not use their R.N. title, compared to, for example, physicians who always add their title to their names, and quite many nurses choose a new and different track in their education for the purpose of increasing their credibility as politicians and policy makers.

Many factor contribute to the fact that nurses have been inactive and relatively powerless in general in influencing health policy and politics on a national level. .

I will now place me in the position of a devils advocate and name a few ot theses factor, as I know that these will stir you. :

In conclusion I would like to introduce you to the way Icelandic nurses in recent years went about to strengthen their position as an influential force in health policy development.

In 1994 the two organisations of registered nurses that had been functioning separately for some years merged into one. The new association, The Icelandic Nurses Association, with the strong support and solidarity of Icelandic nurses, has been able to establish itself as a powerful professional and organisational body of nurses in the country. Since then, the association has been able to raise the salaries of nurses considerably, changed the pension fund for nurses for the better and formed new Code of ethics for Icelandic Nurses. Furthermore in 1997 the agenda of the Icelandic Nurses’ Association in nursing and health affairs was passed. The policy, which results from many years of work, describes the principal theories of the profession regarding nursing and the patients, the education of nurses, the their role in society and the future vision of the health service in Iceland. This policy created stronger grounds and stronger voice for the leaders of the association to increasingly form a position on the matters of the day in the society and for actively participating in discussions on nursing and health issues in the country with the objective of influencing policy decisions on these matters. This stand is also mirrored in the new code of ethics of Icelandic nurses that were passed in 1999. The rules state the following on nursing and the society: “The registered nurse initiates and actively participates in policy formulation and strengthening the health service”.

According to this policy, the Icelandic Nurses’ Association has in recent years prepared several reports on health issues and related matters that are being discussed at any given time, or on matters which the nurses are interested in casting a light upon. The association has also conducted studies, for example, on the shortage of manpower in nursing and research of violence against the healthcare staff, and on the workload and job satisfaction of registered nurses. The results of these studies and surveys have been used to draw attention to the working conditions of nurses and on measures to improve them. The conclusions and ideas of the Association have been introduced to both the national authorities and the general public through the news media, as well as to the nurses in general through association’s professional journal. The objective is to actively participate and affect debate and decision-making in society - for the benefit of the patients, society and the nursing profession.

The position and the influence of the nurses in Iceland are evidenced by the fact that until recently and for the past 6 years the minister of health was a nurse, and she was among 3 nurses out of 63 members of the Icelandic parliament. A large number of nurses are active in politics on the municipal level as elected politicians and many of them hold leadership positions in this capacity. Nurses hold important positions in the office of the Directorate General of Public Health and in the Ministry of Health, where a nurse is stand a in for the first in command in the ministry and nurses are appointed to all governmental committees that deal with nursing and health matters. Nursing director are appointed in all health institutions, and nurses hold financial positions in several hospitals and health agencies. This is not to say that we have won the war, we are actually still fighting the same battles all of you are on the same fronts, you all are.

In the ICN code of ethics for nurses says the following: “The nurse shares with society the responsibility for initiating and supporting action to meet the health and social needs of the public, in particular those of vulnerable populations”

I believe that if nurses are determined to fulfill these responsibilities, the nursing profession has to strategically empower itself politically by for example integrating political socialisation in the nursing curriculum, by providing nurses with opportunities to acquire and practice political skills, by encouraging and supporting them to take an active part in political parties and Nongovernmental organisations and to support them to stand for a office in political elections at all levels.

The nursing profession has to realise that they command over a tremendous political power if they care to make use of it. It is my firm believe, that for the benefit of the people, nurses must take necessary measure to activate the profession to political participation.

In conclusion I would like to quote Margaretta Madden Styles, the former president of the ICN, and this is one of my favourite quotes in this context. She said:"Victory will be won the day that all nurses appropriately convinced of their social contribution and social value, are filled with self-assurance and self-esteem, and take pride in their profession, the day they announce without hesitation or equivocation, "I am a nurse.".

************************************************************************************************************************

How can nursing influence politics and policy, Asta Möller speech, NPN Chair
ICN Congress, Taipei, Taiwan, May 2005

The issue here today is nursing, politics and policy. These three words in a way describe my professional life for the past 16 years, the last six with particular emphasis on politics. In 1999 after having served as a president of the Icelandic Nurses Association for 10 years I was elected a member of the Icelandic Parliament in a general election. That same year I joined the board of directors of ICN and became its second vice president two years later.

Let me start my presentation by stating that in every situation, in every setting, leadership is needed and can be exercised.

I would like to share with you some snapshots of events and discussions that have relevance to our discussions today.

Earlier this month I attended a meeting where a ministerial working group was introducing its ideas on building of a new national hospital in my country, which would replace its old buildings. The group was lead by a nurse, who is the former minister of health and social security. They were describing how the ideology of Practicing Patient Centered care can be made come true in the architecture and designing of a hospital. The message was “to put care back into health care." , by designing the new hospital with regard to the needs of the patients. These ideas were widely reported in the media. It was an instant hit, the politicians, the public and the health professionals bought it and loved it. This is an example of nursing ideology derived from the core of nursing influencing policy and political decisions.

The second scene was a telephone call that I received from a nurse, who is the CEO of a non-profit umbrella organisation on welfare of children with long term diseases. The subject was: How can we influence a situation concerning a young man with long term illness on a respirator living at home and needing a very complicated care? The patient and his family identified 18 different people from the home care centre nursing him over a period of one week. The centre has the unwritten policy of not allowing the nursing personnel to be too attached to the patients, which explains the number of people caring for him. I think you can agree that this is an example how nursing has failed to influence policy.

The third scene is a meeting of a group of nurses called upon to discuss the editorial policy of the Icelandic Nursing Journal, on the occasion of its 85th anniversary. One of the subjects discussed where on to which extent the Journal would publish articles on policy matters and statements from the nurses association on politics and policy. The issue was in fact on to whether the nursing profession wanted to use its own resources to have their voices heard in the society.

The fourth scene is one that I, as a nurse and a politician, frequently encounter, which is to decide whether I want to intervene and take part in a public debate on, for example,

just to name few important subjects that concern the clients of nurses and are important social matters. Many of you experience that same urge to intervene, either personally or in the capacity of a position you hold.

In all instances these scenes call upon leadership of nurses and nursing and whether they as individuals or as a profession are able and willing to take an active part in policy-making and the political decision making process. They call upon them to decide whether they want to accept the responsibility of contributing their knowledge and expertise to influence the society they live in.

In my mind, there is no doubt. I believe that nurses have the obligation to intervene and let their voices be heard for the benefit of the society.

The nursing profession, in its research and in its work with clients in various settings, is in a unique position to get valuable insight in the needs, expectations and interests of the people who are the most vulnerable in the society, the sick, the disabled, the elderly, the poor, young families, drug addicts and alcoholics to name a few. This gives nurses an exceptional opportunity to experience and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the basic societal systems.

It is also in accordance with the ICN code of Ethics for Nurses, where it says, and I quote: “The nurse shares with the society the responsibility for initiating and supporting action to meet the health and social needs of the public, in particular those of vulnerable populations.” ¹

I know from my own experience that if nurses do not accept the responsibility and enter the battle field to fight in favor of the social support systems that make the life of families and individuals better and benefits the whole society, others would eagerly and happily step in do so, sometimes for the worse.

Politics affects all aspects of life. Political decisions determine the quality of life of people, their human rights and security, the economy of a nation or community which affects every household, housing and working conditions, education, social support, health and well being of individuals and families. Strategies to affect these determinants of the standard of life people live in involve political action and policy development.

The nurses holistic view on their role and responsibility in the health care system and their knowledge, based on research and experience is valuable for the ongoing evolution of the health care system. For this knowledge to affect the provision of health care it must reach the policy makers and health policy must reflect the knowledge generated by research and experience. It therefore calls for active participation on the nurses behalf in political action and policy development, either as a policy maker her- or himself or in cooperation with policy makers.

Collins and Coates have discussed the relationship between science and politics. They say that “Many of the most significant advances in public health policy can be made only in the context of political debate, but it has its most profound impact when it changes the very nature of the national political discussion. The pertinent question it not how to insulate public health research from politics, but how to use research more honestly and effectively to inform the politics of public health.” ²

It has been stated that “..there has never been a greater need for nurses to get involved in the political and and policy process. Nurses are needed to ensure that shrinking resources are best used for the health of the nation, to find ways to provide affordable access to health care for all and to promote the debate about the relationship between broad social factors and health” ³

Public funding for health care services is in constant competition with funding for other sectors of the society, some equally important as health care, such as the educational system and social services, some less. Decisions taken in the political arena decide the distribution of funds to different sectors of the society and also the division of funding and therefore priorities between various sectors of the health care system. In order to influence decisions and safeguard the interests of nurses, the profession and the service they provide, nurses will have to influence decisions on all levels of the society, from top governmental level to the floor level in order to preserve the priorities and projects the profession emphasises, including the working environment and their salaries. To influence the political decision making process for the benefit of the cause the profession is committed to, we have to put ourselves in a position to get message through by using information, personal and political connections and other traditional and innovative political methods.

Discussion on the importance of nurses’ involvement and active participation in the political arena and in policy making is not new. Actually, the discussion has been on for decades, with a slow progress, probably though somewhat accelerating recently as the increased self-esteem, understanding of the value of taking active part, new opportunities and increased interest of nurses, as well as women in general, to active participation in policy making, are opening new grounds.

Nurses are the largest group of health professionals and most often also the largest individual professional group of women in a country. That gives them an impressive and important power base that the nursing profession has to value and make use of. However the fact that in most countries the nursing profession is predominantly a women’s profession does inevitably and unfortunately affect the status of the profession and its ability to exert its political influence, whether we like it or not.

One senior nurse-politician was quoted saying that becoming involved in the political process to promote sound policy for nursing practice and health care is an extension of the nurses´ role as a patient advocate. She said that the patients we care for deserve safe, quality care and as we continue to face political policy on health care issues that affect nursing practice and patient care we must make our voices heard. ⁴

Another nurse politician was quoted saying that “Nursing has something special to bring to policy. Health policy is nursing practice” ⁵

However, I must point out that affecting health policy is usually not included when nursing practice is described. Nurses do not regard health policy as an integrated component of their profession and it is not an acknowledged or accepted natural part of their identity. I think I can generalise and say that nurses do not yet feel how strong their powerbase actually is. To empower nurses with more confidence, health policy education and political socialization should be an essential component of nursing curricula on graduate and postgraduate levels. It is also important the NNA provides nurses with opportunities, in formal or informal manner to acquire social and political skills such as public speaking, to enable them active participation in the political arena. In 1997, when the members of the Icelandic Nurses Association, in which I was a president at that time; were entering an industrial action, the association organised a course in public relations for nurses that were workplace representative in various settings. They were given the opportunity to prepare themselves to write articles, hold speeches and meeting the press. For example, each and every nurse in the group experienced being interviewed by a reporter on a TV camera and the group reviewed and criticised it afterwards.

Some have said that nurses bring a unique quality into politics. In their research on 27 nurses politicians, Gebbie, Wakefield and Kerfoot, conclude that nurses bring to the policy arena a special knowledge and skills, which they have gained in their nursing education and in practice. They specify clinical observation skills along with interpersonal communicational skills that specially enable them to assess and analyze situations, to face different interests, to reduce tensions and solve conflicts and to mobilise people. “If you know how to get kids to take their medicine, you can work with a lot of people”. The quality of adding real life experiences to quantitative information when health policy decisions are taken were also taken as valuable assets of the profession. Furthermore it must be pointed out that the basic process of nursing, which is a problem solving process, is quite similar to the basic process of democratic government; that is information gathering on a problem, to identify probable actions or solutions to the challenges presented, and to get a widespread support and actions from many actors to get the problem solved. Nurses are equipped with and therefore familiar to skills and working methods that are used in the political and policy making process. Other important skills mentioned are the ability of nurses being flexible, to have an overview of the situation, to be prepared for the unexpected, to work under pressure and to balance competing priorities. These qualities are inseparable parts of the nursing practice. ⁶

I think it is of great importance that nurses be encouraged to join and actively participate in political parties, and whenever possible should be encouraged and supported morally and/or financially to stand for office in political elections on local or national levels. My first step into the political arena was to enter student politics during my university years. After that I took an active part in a political party that is consistent with my conviction and political ideas, first by being a member of the party’s committee of health and social policy and later the chairman of that same committee. Being elected as the president of the Icelandic Nurses Association enhanced my political status and visibility and in 1999 I was asked to stand for election in my national parliament and was elected. I would like to mention that after the elections three nurses were members of the Icelandic parliament out of 63 members and one became the minister of health and social security.

It is however of concern that research on nurse-politicians has shown that nurses are reluctant to reveal their identity as nurses when they present themselves as politicians. It has been reported that nurses are sometimes perceived as being on a lesser intellectual plane than other professions, so that their input is discounted. Furthermore it is reported that nurses do not seem to value their own and other nurses´ political involvement and input and therefore weaken their collective power. I am sorry to say that I believe that these scenarios are somewhat true and point out that many nurse politicians do not use their R.N. title and quite many add a new and different track in their education for the purpose of increasing their credibility as politicians and policy makers. To stress the point I am making: Physicians who are politicians usually make a special effort to introduce themselves with both titles, which other professionals, nurses included, rarely do.

But how can we increase the credibility and visibility of nurses in politics

I believe that one of the most important factor that can contribute to enhancing the image of nurses and nursing is to assure that the educational level of registered nurses is comparable to that of other health professionals. If their education is on a lower level than other health professionals in general, there is a lesser chance that they will be accepted in their own right.

For the voices of nurses to be recognised and regarded in a collective way, it is important that National nurses associations formulates their policy on issues, publish the policy and present them to nurses, the authorities and the general public. The NNAs must also take the initiative in the debate on politics of health and social issues that are currently in the public eye or need to be brought to the public and political attention. In the process the association must present its view in a high standard in the evaluation of circumstances, reasoning and presentation of its view. High quality discourse has its returns in increased respect for the opinions of the profession and increasing influence in political decision making.

It is also of high importance that nurses demand that their expertise in the field of nursing and organisation of health care services be recognised within the system, by calling for inclusion of nurses on the staff of health ministries and committees on health policy making. I would also like to stress the importance of nurses working with other health professionals, such as physicians, on issues that are of mutual interest. It increases the credibility of both the issue and the groups involved.

In conclusion I would like to tell you about a new initiative that ICN is planning, which is a ICN nurse politicians network. Membership is open to nurse politicians currently or previously elected or appointed at national level. The aim is to organise a forum of nurse politicians, where they have the opportunity to meet virtually on the internet and/or in person and benefit from it personally and politically. We will also look upon them to act as advisors to ICN and nursing globally by identifying key health and social issues that need attention. I would like to use this opportunity to urge you to contact me and forward names of nurses that are or have been member of their national parliaments in your country. My mail address is on my last slide.

I will finish with a poem, made in the time of the Vikings, around the year one thousand and was preserved in the Icelandic Sagas. In the context of this presentation I would like to say: Nurses command over a tremendous political power if they care to make use of it. It is their moral obligation to activate their profession to political participation for the benefit of the people - and remember - No battle is won in bed.

The early bird
Wake early if you want another man´s life or land
No lamb for the lazy wolf
No battle´s won in bed

1	ICN code of Ethics for Nurses. www.icn.ch.
2	Collins, C. ,Coates T.J. (2000) American Journal of Public Health 1389-90
3	Rains JW, Kelley, LC (2000), Journal of Nursing education, Vol 3, 1, 37-
4	(Shumaker (1999, Making our voices heard in the political arenas, ) AORN Journal Jan 99, vol 69 p.8-
5	(Gebbie KM, Wakefield M, Kerfoot K. (2000), Nursing and health policyJournal of Nursing Scholarship 3^rd quarter 2000, Vol 32,3, 307- )
6	Gebbie KM, Wakefield M, Kerfoot K. (2000), Nursing and health policy Journal of Nursing Scholarship 3^rd quarter 2000, Vol 32,3, 307-

OVERVIEW

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR - Asta Möller, Chair of the Nurse Politicians Network

MEMBERS OF THE NPN STEERING GROUP

MEMBERSHIP

EXPERIENCES OF NURSE POLITICIANS

SPEECHES/PAPERS

USEFUL LINKS