Web Lesson Contacting Your Congressperson

Reading Assignment Before you begin this Web Lesson, make sure you have read Chapter 17, The Politically Active Nurse, in your text.

Recall the Tips for Talking with Legislators Your first step is to decide on an issue for discussion. What do you feel passionate about that needs to be changed in statute or regulation? Decide on an issue that you want to change and can defend to your representative.

HINT Review the background information and recent actions of the ANA at the Government Affairs section of their Web site at http://www.nursingworld.org. You may wish to select one of the major health-care issues identified as “hot issues” in Washington by ANA. Investigate further views provided by other organizational Web sites focused on government affairs, such as AACN: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Government/index.htm NLN: http://www.nln.org/governmentaffairs/index.htm Be thinking of your issue!

Your Legislators Next, identify your legislators and their contact information. U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Senate If you want to locate state representatives, go to your state’s official site or use a search engine and enter [your state].gov and hit Enter.

Get to Know Your Legislators Their backgrounds Special interests or initiatives Voting records Committee assignments Involvement with health policy issues Are they a nurses, or do they have health-care backgrounds? Go back to the House or Senate sites and go to your legislators’ home pages to find out some of this information. You can also find information at the ANA Government Affairs site. Check it out at Nursingworld.org.

Now You Need to Prepare Your Position Investigate both sides of the issue. Stay focused on the facts. Relate your position to your practice. Now try to develop this into a well-constructed letter to seek the support of one of your legislators.

Develop a List of Talking Points Include a brief list of talking points for the legislator in your letter. If you are granted an interview, prepare your personal talking points to assist you during your discussion.

Additional Web Sites to Assist with Your Letter ANA’s Nursingworld.org NLN’s Government Affairs Action Center American Association of Critical-Care Nurses AACN Governmental Affairs American Academy of Nurse Practitioners

Before You Send Your Letter Have you proofread your letter to ensure correct grammar and spelling? Have you kept to the facts, avoiding rambling and extraneous information? Have you had a friend/significant other and colleague review it? It helps if someone else reads the letter. Someone familiar with the issue Someone unfamiliar, to see if you have “made” your case Do you think that you will have the attention of your legislator?

Also Before You Send Your Letter Have you prepared your letter to the appropriate legislator? Recall your initial investigation of His/her background Special interests or initiatives Voting record Committee assignments Involvement with health policy issues Have you made your case?

Course Assignment Now, have your professor review what you have prepared. Submit your course to the appropriate Dropbox

How Are You Going to Send Your Letter? E-mail? Fax? Postal Service? Why, and what is best? Read the recommendations from the House of Representatives and the Senate. What hints did you get from the congressperson’s home page or Web site?

If meeting with the legislator or an aide in person, remember these tips Request a meeting of at least 15 to 30 minutes. If the legislator is not available, meet with the legislative aide/staff member knowledgeable on the issue. Practice your presentation to gain comfort and to anticipate questions. Be on time, and be professional. Introduce yourself and thank the legislator/aide for his/her time and interest. Be prepared to explain what you do as a nurse, your philosophy of care, and the impact of pending legislation on health care and the legislator’s constituents. Use concise and explicit examples from your practice to illustrate your position. Be prepared to offer additional information or solutions, but stick to the facts. If the legislator or aide indicates support for your position, ask what you can do to reach other legislators or sponsors. Provide an opportunity to answer any questions and offer additional information. Ask whether you may leave a copy of your position paper and talking points. Send a follow-up thank-you note for the meeting, and restate your position. You may even want to follow your interview with a well-worded letter on your position to the editor of the local newspaper. But remember to send a copy to your legislator so he/she can get mileage with local constituents.

Next Steps? What are the next steps you can take to garner support for your issue?

And now, you have demonstrated the political imperative Congratulations!