Nurse Educators and Politics

Book excerpt: Although they represent a significant majority of American health care providers, nurses have had only a limited influence on policy developments in the health care and political systems. Helping to understand why the profession has remained a "sleeping giant," Nurse Educators and Politics focuses on a primary socialization agent to the profession: nursing faculty members. Using survey data, Sondra Z. Koff examines nurse educators' attitudes toward select public policies and political participation, as well as their political and organizational activism. These findings are related to nursing's professional history and are discussed in a broader political context to better understand nurses' behavior in the decision-making process.