Guest Blog by Sue Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Senior Adviser for Nursing
What does it mean to be a leader? To me, being a leader means bringing something special and unique to the table. A leader influences people with not only words, but also with actions. A leader has the ability to transform the way people think and act. One example of leadership that comes to mind immediately – and one that is near and dear to my heart – is nurses. And in this case, it’s nurses in the military.
My mother, who was and still is my ultimate role model, was a leader through and through. She served as a nurse in the Air Force in both South Dakota and Alabama (although she was hoping for Hawaii). Her dedication to her job and her country was astounding. My mother was one of the first nurses in our country to specialize and care for polio victims as a Red Cross nurse. In the 1940’s, she served as a travel nurse and participated in a marketing campaign – along with a young polio patient – to prove that a disabled individual could fly. This trip enabled my mother and the polio patient to meet with President Roosevelt’s daughter, Anne, to discuss ways to best care for polio patients.
Growing up, and knowing my mother’s level of commitment, I wondered how I possibly could follow her lead. While I did not ultimately pursue a career in the military service, I followed in my mother’s footsteps to become a nurse, serving the public in a different way.
I was recently invited by General Dorothy Hogg, Chief Nurse of the United States Air Force to meet with military nurses, nurse managers, and medics from around the country at their annual conference in San Antonio, Texas. I felt at home—being among Air Force nurses and leaders and felt especially moved as General Hogg presented my mother in absentia a special Air Force T-Shirt and said that she and all her nurses stand on the shoulders of my mother who went before them.
Because of the very significant roles nurses play in communities, they are vital to realizing the vision of a Culture a Health—a society that gives all people equal opportunity to live the healthiest they can. And we see examples of this in action every day in the military. Being a military nurse means being ready to step into any situation at a moment’s notice and rise up to it. They were committed to a lifestyle of health and wellbeing, including eating well and exercising to ensure their readiness status.
During my time in San Antonio, I heard tangible examples of what nurses are doing in the military beyond patient care. I learned that nurses in the military lead as members of the executive team at every facility. I heard about examples from bases all over the country, such as nurses at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, who are demonstrating the power of interprofessional collaboration through their critical care working group. Nurses at the Los Angeles Air Force Base led the establishment of a telemedicine clinic focusing on treating dermatology issues that led to more efficient use of the health care system on base, and better patient outcomes.
The dedication nurses in the military demonstrate ties in to what we are doing at the Campaign for Action, a collaboration between AARP and the Foundation, to meet the goals set forth by the Institute of Medicine’s Future of Nursing report. Together, we are committed to building a Culture of Health, a vision that is shared by so many, and a vision that cannot happen without nurses.
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