By Melanie Furrer, SNM, BSN, RN, ACNM Government Relations Intern
Let’s start out with a little introduction. I’m Melanie: RN
first, and graduate student second. I’m at Johns Hopkins University pursuing my
master’s in public health nursing and nurse-midwifery. In three semesters, one
month and 5 days (but who’s counting?) I and my diploma will be ready to sit the
boards to become a CNM! Though my final goal seems far away as I suffocate
under hundreds of pages of reading in my 50lb pathophysiology book and develop
carpal tunnel syndrome from seemingly endless postings for my online courses, I
have had the privilege this semester of witnessing a different side of
nurse-midwifery.
I began my semester internship with Cara Kinzelman in
the ACNM Government Relations department in January. My goal was to become more
familiar with the intimidating world of health policy, and to gain a better
understanding for how I, as a future midwife, can advocate for my patients and
my profession. As a student and practicing nurse, I’ve noticed that we often
shy away from the realm of policy. With all the stress and pressure involved in
our profession, nurses often do not have the time or energy to see beyond their
clinical setting. Policy has always been intimidating to me because of my lack
of familiarity. I have never felt that I knew quite enough to effectively partake
in the conversation. The past semester
has been extremely formative in my developing a relationship with health politics
and policy.
As part of my work, I have had the opportunity to attend a
congressional briefing and a workforce briefing, sit in on conference calls,
meet people from every ACNM department, and become more familiar with the way
that a professional organization like ACNM advocates on a larger scale for the
interests of their affiliates. The people here work on so many different levels
in so many different areas to ensure that CNMs and CMs are able to practice to
the fullest extent of their scope and licensure. They provide practicing
midwives with the information, resources, and support they need to advocate for
themselves locally, as well as stay up to date on best practices and keep up
with their continuing education requirements. Globally, ACNM works in many
different countries to educate and train midwives to serve their communities. Lastly
but very importantly, ACNM works to promote our profession and make the public
aware who midwives are, who we care for, and how our practice can effect
positive change in all populations.
My time as an ACNM intern has really highlighted for me the
importance of belonging to a professional organization. A popular refrain in my
courses lately, regarding leadership and management in nursing, is “if you are
not at the table, you will be on the menu.” ACNM makes sure that midwives are at
the table. Midwives lead busy, stressful
lives, and it is important that we have an organization to look out for our
best interests – someone to go to the table for us when we are not able to do
so ourselves. This collective voice has the potential for a greater impact than
any of our individual voices alone. My time here has been an awesome
introduction to the world of policy and politics, and now that I’ve gotten my
feet wet, I think about my practice in a very different way. I am excited to
move forward in my career with a better understanding of this aspect of midwifery
and a more active voice in advocacy through policy change.