MANS Legislative Chair Elizabeth Noyes Though I am now a senior at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, I took a circuitous route to get here. My first bachelor’s degree was in Anthropology and Women’s Studies. Immediately after graduation, I moved to Beijing, ultimately spending over three years living and working in China and Taiwan. After I returned to the States, I spent four years working at a Planned Parenthood health center in New Jersey doing public affairs, grassroots organizing and lobbying. My fifth year at Planned Parenthood was spent working at the national office in Washington DC, promoting partnerships between US-based Planned Parenthood affiliates and international family planning agencies. I eventually realized that though policy and politics will always be a passion of mine, I also felt drawn to do more hands-on care…so, nursing school it was!
My time at Planned Parenthood gave me a deep understanding of how important it is to be involved in the legislative process, as well as a passion for getting others involved. It is vitally important that our leaders hear our voices as nurses. Laws and regulations are drafted and passed all the time that affect our working conditions and scope of practice, too often without much input from nurses. Nurses have the potential to be an incredibly powerful voice for change in health care. I hope to help fellow student nurses start to understand the legislative process and why it is so important that we be involved.
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