Influencing
One success story happened in 1988 when Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act—the Nurse Education Act—was under review. New provisions in the bill included specific penalties for NPs and nurses if they defaulted on their student loans—penalties that did not apply to other health care professionals. My colleagues and I were outraged! Like many others, I had such a loan, which had allowed me to pursue my dream of becoming an NP.
The AANP got the word out, and we bombarded our legislators’ offices with calls and a threat to “march on Washington.” For my part, I personally spoke with Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy and asked him if he realized the revisions made him look like a “loan shark.” I told him that NPs were in direct competition with physicians in settings identified as “loan repayments sites” and that physicians were more apt to be hired in these settings than NPs. I quickly offered up alternatives to increase the number of eligible sites where NPs could work for loan repayment, such as community health centers—a system for which he had secured funding decades earlier.
The end result of our influence? Community health centers throughout the country would be considered “loan repayment” sites, which helped to expand the opportunities for NPs to fulfill their financial obligations. If that doesn’t show you that being a leader requires you to challenge unfairness and identify solutions to correct inequity, I don’t know what does.
In a health care organization, we all have multiple roles that require us to be leaders. We are collaborators, providers of care, advocates for our patients, problem-solvers, and idealists. We are also role models for nascent health care providers. A leader’s responsibility spans the breadth of the organization, and today’s health care system continues to demand strong leaders capable of utilizing a variety of skills.
Next Thursday, I will continue my investigation of how to become an effective leader. In our fourth and final part of this series, we will discuss how acknowledging our specific personality traits can strengthen the efforts of a leader.