Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1259738
18 Working Nurse l WorkingNurse.com June 15–July 27, 2020 2. Humanize the facts. Complaining and commiserating amongst ourselves gets us nowhere. To move leaders to action, you need irrefutable facts — and you also need to combine them with real stories about real people. Sharing stories helps to contextualize what the data means and underscores the human costs of failing to act. Years ago, hospitals considered par- ents to be visitors, forcing them to leave their children's bedside during rounds and at night. One night, a child in a hospi- tal where I was working died alone, unnecessarily, as a direct result of these archaic rules. I knew this was wrong, so I used my voice to ensure that it never happened again. I partnered with several like-minded nurses, and we invited parents to join the cause. We formed a family advisory com- mittee that changed this policy forever, reminding the administration that no child should ever be alone, much less die alone. 3. Invite yourself. Stop waiting for an invitation to get involved. Take the initiative to show up at relevant meetings and reach out to influ- ential leaders. Social media makes it easy to connect; if someone doesn't accept your invitation, just move on. For years, I'd admired the work of Barry Posner, Ph.D., coauthor of The Leadership Challenge, from afar. He gra- ciously accepted my invitation to con- nect on LinkedIn and subsequently became my mentor and friend. Now, sev- eral years after that LinkedIn message, Barry has invited me to become a certi- fied master of The Leadership Challenge, joining an elite group of fewer than 100 people worldwide. It's a testament to the potential rewards of taking a chance, ignoring your fear of rejection and inviting yourself. F orence Nightingale was an effective advocate for her patients and for the nurses who cared for them. She was both compassionate and willing to wade into conflict when necessary. She fought incompetence and indifference, applied the new field of statistics to mili- tary and civilian hospitals, and made public health a national priority in Great Britain. Like Florence, we have an opportunity to turn the present crisis into a move- ment and use our voices to make a last- ing difference. A CALL TO ACTION We must not let institutions or elected officials forget the costly lessons that COVID-19 has so forcibly taught us. Faulty assumptions, systems and processes failed us, and our patients and nurses caught the brunt of it. Default thinking proved inadequate and compromised our ability to care for patients (and ourselves and our families) during this pandemic. Nurses need to speak up and speak out against the status quo. The moment is now, and the responsibility is ours. Here's my advice on what it takes to do that, illustrated with some examples from my own life. 1. Be courageous. Nurses have a 150-year history of being submissive and subservient to others. It's time for us to stand up for ourselves and our patients. We must always be profes- sional and well-prepared, but we must also learn to use our voices and lead from wherever we are. To find your courage, be open to input from trusted friends and colleagues. Others can often see things in us that we don't see ourselves. Earlier in my career, a friend invited me to run for office in a national nursing organization (the National Association of Neonatal Nurses). I didn't sleep for two weeks, worrying about whether I was up to the task. It was the encouragement of my family and my nursing team that finally convinced me to do it. From that decision, I learned the value of listening to the 7,500 members speak- ing their truth about the challenges of being a bedside nurse. I remember being at the organization's annual conference and meeting hundreds of the neonatal nurses who treat our smallest and most vulnerable patients. Reflecting on the honor, privilege and responsibility of rep- resenting those nurses, I was deeply grateful for the people who had encour- aged me to run. Through my presidency and the associ- ation's campaign for safer staffing in labor & delivery units, I learned how to lead through influence and collaboration, which are invaluable skills for any nurse leader. None of that would have happened if I hadn't found the courage to step up. Making COVID - 19 COUNT