LAUSR

G raduating nursing students are often comfortable with the concept of bedside patient advocacy; however, students also should be prepared to advocate more broadly across the health care system. The expectation that nurses know how to collaborate to develop and implement policy is even more essential in the current changing health care system. This activity empowers students to move beyond bedside-based patient advocacy through historical exploration and guided self-reflection. A foundation for policy activism is provided using a political development framework, such as the Political Development Framework, which includes stages: buy-in, self-interest, political sophistication, and leading the way. Using the conceptual framework, students examine a politically active nurse role model through Internet research. Guiding the exploration of the nurse's political development are specific questions addressing each of the stage of political development. What “problem” was the nurse passionate about, or was there an “aha” moment (stage 1)? How did the nurse go from recognizing the problem to wanting to make change (stage 2)? What did the nurse have to do to gain expertise (stage 3)? How did the nurse influence public policy? What changes to the world did he/she make (stage 4)? After researching, students present and discuss the identified nurse role model with their peers. Often this discussion leads to application of historical events to personal stories from the students' lives, passions, or envisioned future careers. To wrap up the learning experience, students complete a 5-minute self-reflection. They identify the key concepts that resonated from the lesson, where they are in the policy development process, and the possibility of political activism in the future.