Like it is for many, cancer research is a personal cause for Marquette alumna Kelsey Schmitt. The longtime oncology nurse has treated hundreds of patients suffering from all varieties of cancer. Then it struck her husband, Jason, shortly after the two were married.
“My husband was diagnosed with stage four esophageal cancer, and he passed within 10 months of diagnosis,” Schmitt says. “I’d never want this to happen to anyone else.”
While Schmitt has plenty of experience calling legislators to advocate for cancer research funding, she’s learning how to be an even more effective representative for the cause through a Professional Issues in APN/DNP Practice class. Schmitt is taking the course as part of her Doctor of Nursing Practice program. Its purpose is to train nurse leaders on how they can expand their influence.
“Nursing has been one of the most trusted occupations for the past 20-plus years. People trust us,” Schmitt says. “We need to make sure that we are heard, trusted and advocating for patients in society.”
Dr. Kathlyn Albert, clinical assistant professor and director of the Nurse-Midwifery Program, has taught the class for the past six years. She breaks the class into four sections: history and professionalization of practice; business and legal issues including health policy; regulation issues; and leadership. Advanced practice nurses need to understand all of them to be well-rounded champions of the profession.
“Nurses need to understand the process of how a bill becomes a law and how the whole legislative system works; then we move to things like knowing who your legislators are and how to reach out to them,” Albert says.
Students learn about legislation relevant to their future careers: one example is the previous APRN Modernization Act, which would create a seperate license for advanced practice nurses in Wisconsin. This would make it easier for them to establish independent practice. Supporters of the bill say it would expand access to health care, particularly in the rural parts of the state.
Class members attended Nurses Day at the Capitol to learn about legislation and speak to legislators about the act, as well as nurse faculty recruitment and pay for preceptors. The experience is a thorough education, both in the impact of health care policy and how to make it happen.
“I think events like Nurses Day at the Capitol really help,” Albert says. “It helps students to find their voice and feel like they can make a difference.”
Students don’t need to meet their legislators in person to have influence. One of the assignments in Albert’s class involves emailing legislators to talk about nursing issues, an assignment that Schmitt fulfilled by making the case for increased cancer research funding.
Prior to taking the class, Schmitt also sat on the Lupus Society of Illinois’ junior board and met with the Food and Drug Administration to lobby on behalf of patients with autoimmune diseases.
While many in Albert’s class are interested in learning about health care policy, they also leave with a healthy dose of business acumen. Nurses with advanced degrees can open their own practices, but that requires more than just good patient skills. Rent, supplies, laboratory equipment, personnel and malpractice insurance are just some of the cost pressures any self-employed APRN needs to know about. Albert has her students research all of them.
“By the end of the course, our students really learn quite a bit, not just about advocacy, but about so many other topics,” Albert says.
Students leave Albert’s class with confidence, a broadened knowledge base and a vision that extends far beyond traditional healthcare settings.
“Nurses are all leaders. We lead by taking care of our patients and championing them first and foremost in everything we do.” Schmitt says.
