Ep 226: The Need for More State Nurse Legislators

We talk all the time about the lack of nurse representation in policy-making positions, but that doesn’t make the data any less surprising. Today we’ll have a great discussion with Darlene Curley, EdD, RN, FAAN, about a study she recently completed on state nurse legislators. She’ll share some of the details with us in this episode and we’ll also have a wide-ranging discussion on how CRNAs and other nurses can continue increasing their involvement.  

Here are some of the things you’ll learn on this show:

• How she took an interest in community engagement and volunteering to a policy level.  (5:17)


• Would the pandemic have looked different if more nurses would have been in more leadership positions? (12:21)


• Background on the study and what she found. (18:08)


• Why she thinks the trend is going  (24:14)


• How can each of us support the nurses in these leadership positions. 26:09)


• How does a policy-maker decide about an issue without a background on that issue? (30:36)


• What are we losing by not having nurses representing us in all 50 states? (45:21)

Read the State Nurse Legislature study: https://www.nursingworld.org/~4a6c69/globalassets/practiceandpolicy/advocacy/state/9.12.22-status-report--nurse-state-legislators-2020-22.pdf 

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