For more than 20 years running, Americans have named nurses among the most trusted working professionals in the country — a fact Lisa Grabert, visiting research professor of nursing, loves to underscore with students in her Health Policy course at Marquette. It helps them imagine how they can influence systemic change in health care.
“I teach my students that, as nurses, they have a special responsibility to get involved in advocacy,” says Grabert, a prominent policy expert with experience forging health legislation as a former top aide to the House Ways and Means Committee. “They have more sway because there’s instantaneous trust and credibility.”
With Grabert’s support, students from her course have begun seizing a unique opportunity to build that advocacy experience through a partnership with Marquette’s Les Aspin Center in Washington, D.C. The renowned center curates academic study-away and internship opportunities for Marquette students from its campus in the heart of Capitol Hill featuring two buildings with space to house up to 24 students.
The nursing partnership specifically hosts one -to two students each summer through a scholarship that covers their tuition and expenses. Grabert and center staff help the students secure internships with nonprofit agencies working at the forefront of U.S. health policy.
An underlying goal is expanding nursing students’ understanding of the possibilities within the profession. The summer schedule creates welcome opportunities for nursing students whose academic-year schedules are full of courses and clinical experiences that preclude traditional internships.
“I feel like I was actually making change.”
Allison Monty, nursing student
“Public policy affects every single discipline imaginable,” says Dr. Paul Nolette, director of the Aspin Center. “So I’m really trying to get students in a variety of careers to better appreciate that, and help them grow as professionals. This summer nursing partnership is a shining example of that growth.”
Beyond Bedside Nursing
Last summer, Marquette nursing student Allison Monty interned with the public affairs firm Penn Quarter Partners while living and studying at the Aspin Center just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. At the advocacy-oriented nonprofit, she helped conduct research and created materials to present to members of Congress.
Monty’s focus was demonstrating that large hospitals have exploited a federal drug-pricing initiative that was intended to reduce prescription drug costs for low-income hospital patients. Grabert spearheaded a watchdog analysis that exposed this issue of hospitals misusing the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program.
Specifically, Grabert found that hospitals were using the 340B program to drive profits higher rather than reduce the price of drugs for low-income patients. Her findings are informing the work of lawmakers who are considering revisions to the 340B program, in part thanks to Monty.
That work placed Monty inside the halls of the Capitol for key briefings. “I feel like I was actually doing something and making change,” she says.
While she produced infographics to consolidate important patient data for lawmakers, her eyes opened to the unique vantage point nurses have and the value that provides in the policy arena. “We just need to have our voices heard more — to get out there and work to get patients the best care that they can get,” Monty says.
The summer opportunity also plugged Monty in to a supportive group of Marquette student transplants experiencing similar opportunities in D.C. They all participated in a course that led them in sharing and reflecting on their internship experiences. Weekly journaling and discussions helped her process what she was learning and sharpen her professional skills. “The apartment complex gives you this community of people who are going through the same things that you’re going through,” Monty says.
Marquette’s D.C. Legacy
The Les Aspin Center launched as an extension of Marquette University in 1988. Nolette took the helm as the institution’s second director in 2023. To date roughly 3,000 students have participated in the center, which is named after the late Marquette economics professor Les Aspin, who also served as President Bill Clinton’s defense secretary and a member of Congress. Many students have moved on to careers serving in Congress, government agencies, public service agencies and private firms.
Nolette says collaboration with Marquette faculty partners, including those from the College of Nursing, is key to expanding the reach and effectiveness of the center. Another key example of that collaboration? Grabert and Laurna Prantil, an instructor of practice in economics with experience as an economist for federal agencies and laboratories, co-taught a weeklong Regulatory Economics course at the center in January. Grabert taught business and economics students about health policy.
Grabert says she aims to double the number of Marquette nursing students who get this D.C. immersion experience each year. Plus, she’s exploring creating additional programming that will invite nursing faculty for more short-term offerings. “We need more nurses to come and get engaged in the policy process,” she says.
