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Back to Basics: A Guide to Taking a Meaningful Pause During Health Reform
Journal of Radiology Nursing 36 (2017) 188e189
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Radiology Nursing journal homepage: www.radiologynursing.org
Back to Basics: A Guide to Taking a Meaningful Pause During Health Reform Suzanne Miyamoto, PhD, RN, FAAN * American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Washington, DC
a b s t r a c t Keywords: Health reform Education Civics
Health care reform is hotly debated. It evokes passion with positions that span the full spectrum. As congress considers how to improve the system, it is important to ask ourselves, how informed are we in the conversation and just as critically, how involved do we want to be in the reform process. This article considers a return to basics and the empowerment that comes from education in efforts to be politically engaged. Copyright © 2017 by the Association for Radiologic & Imaging Nursing.
Introduction We live in uncertain timesdjust as many generations have done before us. Although there has been great variation in the severity of these challenges, one thing remains constantdthe will to preserve. Courage, strength, and championing what is right empower hope and enact change. Amid these certain truths, the question becomes who, or what, is right? At the present moment, our nation is considering major health reform that has massive implications, and we are left to ask ourselves: what is the right policy, and who is championing the right cause? To this end, it is a house divided. A house divided with tremendously strong convictions and vocal discourse. According to a national poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), 55% of the public has a somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable view of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) replacement plan (KFF, 2017). Fifty-one percent of Americans have a favorable view of the ACA, whereas 30% have a favorable view of the plan to repeal and replace the ACA (KFF, 2017). It is also interesting to note that only 8% of Americans said repealing and replacing the ACA should be the most important priority in congress, and only four in 10 Americans are aware that the house-passed replacement plan makes major reductions to Medicaid (KFF, 2017). For the average American, for the average nurse, the weight of these conversations presses heavily on our minds and our hearts. It is easy to get lost in the rhetoric, to not hear or speak clearly, to become so impassioned that we feel angry, lost, or even hopeless. In times like these, can we get back to basics? * Corresponding author: Suzanne Miyamoto, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001. E-mail address: [email protected].
We likely have heard this phrase and used it ourselves. The Cambridge dictionary defines it as “returning to the simple and most important things” (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.). This is the moment to take a meaningful pause during health reformdselfrespect, decency, and honesty. Let us now move forward holding these principles in mind and heart. As so many political leaders have recently reflected, health care is, in fact, complicated. As nurses, we see not only the heartbreak, the inequities, the pain, but also the healing, the innovations, and the relief. We see what works and what does not. Nurses are champions for what is right. However, if nurses want to champion what is right during health reform, they too must return to the basics in another sense: education. It is hard to turn away from the national conversation on health reform. But how much do you really know about what is happening, what is at stake, or what will create profound change? Do you know where your federal senators or representative stand on the most recent proposals in the house and the senate? Take a step back even further and ask yourself, do I know who represents me in congress? If the answer is no, you are not alone, most Americans do not. According to the 2016 National Civics Survey Results conducted by the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate (2016), only 16% of respondents could list both their senators. Knowing who is representing you at the federal level is an educational basic. Next, do you really care about the national conversation? This question is not to sound inflammatory but to pause and truly consider: how much time and energy do I want to invest. If your answer is that you care very deeply and do want to invest, but are overwhelmed and not sure where to begin, then start simply. Where have you read about the proposals? At the time of this
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jradnu.2017.07.002 1546-0843/$36.00/Copyright © 2017 by the Association for Radiologic & Imaging Nursing.
S. Miyamoto / Journal of Radiology Nursing 36 (2017) 188e189
writing, they include the American Health Care Act of 2017 (H.R. 1628) and the Better Health Reconciliation Act of 2017 (senate amendment to H.R. 1628). Have you gone to the source or read the Congressional Budget Office scores (Congressional Budget Office, 2017a, 2017b, 2017c)? Digesting the original source is an educational basic. With these two educational basics, there is an openness for the fundamental principles of self-respect, decency, and honesty. You will be able to use your passion to speak on a more informed level. Finally, it is time to ask yourself, do I want to be more than an informed citizen. If the answer is yes, but again, you feel overwhelmed, start simply. Consider the information that is being provided to you by your national organizations of which you are a member (Miyamoto, 2017). If their focus is at the federal level, they will have a pulse on what congress is discussing and how it impacts your area of concern (Miyamoto, 2017). Education and the pursuit of knowledge are foundational to our nation. Our forefathers invested in ideals of public education and since 1597, when first mentioned by Francis Bacon, knowledge is power. As nurses, we know this acutely. Over the decades, we have pushed for our programs to be at the university level on par with our other health profession colleagues. We have developed our own body of evidence grounded in cutting edge scientific research. At a time when the nation faces, again, monumental conversations about the future of our health and health care system, we must push ourselves to be ever vigilant in our own pursuit of knowledge. Our patients and their families rely on
189
nurses to champion what is right. In uncertain times, nurses have the will to persevere.
References American Health Care Act of 2017. (H.R. 1628). Retrieved from https://www. congress.gov/115/bills/hr1628/BILLS-115hr1628pcs.pdf. Accessed August 3, 2017. Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017. (H.R. 1628). Retrieved from https://www. budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SENATEHEALTHCARE.pdf. Accessed August 3, 2017. Cambridge Dictionary. Back to basics. Retrieved from http://dictionary.cambridge. org/us/dictionary/english/back-to-basics. Accessed August 3, 2017. Congressional Budget Office. (2017a). American Health Care Act. Cost estimate. Retrieved from https://www.cbo.gov/publication/52486. Accessed August 3, 2017. Congressional Budget Office. (2017b). H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act, incorporating manager's amendments 4, 5, 24, and 25. Retrieved from https:// www.cbo.gov/publication/52516. Accessed August 3, 2017. Congressional Budget Office. (2017c). H.R. 1628, Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017. Retrieved from https://www.cbo.gov/publication/52849. Accessed August 3, 2017. Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. (2016). 2016 National Civics Survey results. Retrieved from https://emki-production.s3.amazonaws.com/ downloads/64/files/EMK_Institute_Nat._Civic_Survey_Results.pdf?1458221724. Accessed August 3, 2017. Kaiser Family Foundation. (2017). Kaiser health tracking poll, June 2017: ACA, replacement plan, and Medicaid. Retrieved from http://www.kff.org/health-reform/poll-finding/ kaiser-health-tracking-poll-june-2017-aca-replacement-plan-and-medicaid/. Accessed August 3, 2017. Miyamoto, S. (2017). The state of play: Healthcare reform in 2017. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 22(2). Manuscript 1.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Radiology Nursing journal homepage: www.radiologynursing.org
Back to Basics: A Guide to Taking a Meaningful Pause During Health Reform Suzanne Miyamoto, PhD, RN, FAAN * American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Washington, DC
a b s t r a c t Keywords: Health reform Education Civics
Health care reform is hotly debated. It evokes passion with positions that span the full spectrum. As congress considers how to improve the system, it is important to ask ourselves, how informed are we in the conversation and just as critically, how involved do we want to be in the reform process. This article considers a return to basics and the empowerment that comes from education in efforts to be politically engaged. Copyright © 2017 by the Association for Radiologic & Imaging Nursing.
Introduction We live in uncertain timesdjust as many generations have done before us. Although there has been great variation in the severity of these challenges, one thing remains constantdthe will to preserve. Courage, strength, and championing what is right empower hope and enact change. Amid these certain truths, the question becomes who, or what, is right? At the present moment, our nation is considering major health reform that has massive implications, and we are left to ask ourselves: what is the right policy, and who is championing the right cause? To this end, it is a house divided. A house divided with tremendously strong convictions and vocal discourse. According to a national poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), 55% of the public has a somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable view of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) replacement plan (KFF, 2017). Fifty-one percent of Americans have a favorable view of the ACA, whereas 30% have a favorable view of the plan to repeal and replace the ACA (KFF, 2017). It is also interesting to note that only 8% of Americans said repealing and replacing the ACA should be the most important priority in congress, and only four in 10 Americans are aware that the house-passed replacement plan makes major reductions to Medicaid (KFF, 2017). For the average American, for the average nurse, the weight of these conversations presses heavily on our minds and our hearts. It is easy to get lost in the rhetoric, to not hear or speak clearly, to become so impassioned that we feel angry, lost, or even hopeless. In times like these, can we get back to basics? * Corresponding author: Suzanne Miyamoto, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001. E-mail address: [email protected].
We likely have heard this phrase and used it ourselves. The Cambridge dictionary defines it as “returning to the simple and most important things” (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.). This is the moment to take a meaningful pause during health reformdselfrespect, decency, and honesty. Let us now move forward holding these principles in mind and heart. As so many political leaders have recently reflected, health care is, in fact, complicated. As nurses, we see not only the heartbreak, the inequities, the pain, but also the healing, the innovations, and the relief. We see what works and what does not. Nurses are champions for what is right. However, if nurses want to champion what is right during health reform, they too must return to the basics in another sense: education. It is hard to turn away from the national conversation on health reform. But how much do you really know about what is happening, what is at stake, or what will create profound change? Do you know where your federal senators or representative stand on the most recent proposals in the house and the senate? Take a step back even further and ask yourself, do I know who represents me in congress? If the answer is no, you are not alone, most Americans do not. According to the 2016 National Civics Survey Results conducted by the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate (2016), only 16% of respondents could list both their senators. Knowing who is representing you at the federal level is an educational basic. Next, do you really care about the national conversation? This question is not to sound inflammatory but to pause and truly consider: how much time and energy do I want to invest. If your answer is that you care very deeply and do want to invest, but are overwhelmed and not sure where to begin, then start simply. Where have you read about the proposals? At the time of this
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jradnu.2017.07.002 1546-0843/$36.00/Copyright © 2017 by the Association for Radiologic & Imaging Nursing.
S. Miyamoto / Journal of Radiology Nursing 36 (2017) 188e189
writing, they include the American Health Care Act of 2017 (H.R. 1628) and the Better Health Reconciliation Act of 2017 (senate amendment to H.R. 1628). Have you gone to the source or read the Congressional Budget Office scores (Congressional Budget Office, 2017a, 2017b, 2017c)? Digesting the original source is an educational basic. With these two educational basics, there is an openness for the fundamental principles of self-respect, decency, and honesty. You will be able to use your passion to speak on a more informed level. Finally, it is time to ask yourself, do I want to be more than an informed citizen. If the answer is yes, but again, you feel overwhelmed, start simply. Consider the information that is being provided to you by your national organizations of which you are a member (Miyamoto, 2017). If their focus is at the federal level, they will have a pulse on what congress is discussing and how it impacts your area of concern (Miyamoto, 2017). Education and the pursuit of knowledge are foundational to our nation. Our forefathers invested in ideals of public education and since 1597, when first mentioned by Francis Bacon, knowledge is power. As nurses, we know this acutely. Over the decades, we have pushed for our programs to be at the university level on par with our other health profession colleagues. We have developed our own body of evidence grounded in cutting edge scientific research. At a time when the nation faces, again, monumental conversations about the future of our health and health care system, we must push ourselves to be ever vigilant in our own pursuit of knowledge. Our patients and their families rely on
189
nurses to champion what is right. In uncertain times, nurses have the will to persevere.
References American Health Care Act of 2017. (H.R. 1628). Retrieved from https://www. congress.gov/115/bills/hr1628/BILLS-115hr1628pcs.pdf. Accessed August 3, 2017. Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017. (H.R. 1628). Retrieved from https://www. budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SENATEHEALTHCARE.pdf. Accessed August 3, 2017. Cambridge Dictionary. Back to basics. Retrieved from http://dictionary.cambridge. org/us/dictionary/english/back-to-basics. Accessed August 3, 2017. Congressional Budget Office. (2017a). American Health Care Act. Cost estimate. Retrieved from https://www.cbo.gov/publication/52486. Accessed August 3, 2017. Congressional Budget Office. (2017b). H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act, incorporating manager's amendments 4, 5, 24, and 25. Retrieved from https:// www.cbo.gov/publication/52516. Accessed August 3, 2017. Congressional Budget Office. (2017c). H.R. 1628, Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017. Retrieved from https://www.cbo.gov/publication/52849. Accessed August 3, 2017. Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. (2016). 2016 National Civics Survey results. Retrieved from https://emki-production.s3.amazonaws.com/ downloads/64/files/EMK_Institute_Nat._Civic_Survey_Results.pdf?1458221724. Accessed August 3, 2017. Kaiser Family Foundation. (2017). Kaiser health tracking poll, June 2017: ACA, replacement plan, and Medicaid. Retrieved from http://www.kff.org/health-reform/poll-finding/ kaiser-health-tracking-poll-june-2017-aca-replacement-plan-and-medicaid/. Accessed August 3, 2017. Miyamoto, S. (2017). The state of play: Healthcare reform in 2017. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 22(2). Manuscript 1.