Missouri students attend Nurse Advocacy Day

Nursing students throughout Missouri traveled to Jefferson City to learn how to advocate as individuals and nursing professionals.

The Missouri Nurses Association had its 24th Annual Missouri Nurse Advocacy Day Feb. 24 in Jefferson City.

“It was definitely very successful. We had very positive feedback from the students and they seemed engaged at the capital,” said Jill Kliethermes, MONA executive director.

State Rep. Rebecca McClanahan, Ph.D., RN, gave the keynote speech at the event.

“I always really enjoy listening to Rebecca speak. She’s just a really dynamic and fascinating speaker,” Kliethermes said. “One of her key messages was to be involved in the legislative process.”

Avila University School of Nursing instructors Bruce Voegele, MA, BSN, RN, and Rhonda Brown, RN, MSN, CCRN, took students to Advocacy Day.

“This was my first trip to the Missouri advocacy day,” Voegele said. “I thought overall that it was a positive experience.”

Participants in Nurse Advocacy Day met with legislators and witnessed House bill 1498 pass in the House.

The bill, which is currently in the Senate, would place more strict requirements on the amount of time insurance providers have to pay or deny a claim. The bill would impose a 1 percent penalty on all claims not paid within 45 days.

Missouri nurses are also closely watching House bill 1449, which would enable physical therapists to accept prescriptions from advanced practice nurses.

“We’re still wanting to move the advanced practice registered nurses to the approved list of providers authorized to write referrals for physical therapists,” Kliethermes said.

Currently, advanced practice nurses have to have physicians write a prescription for a physical therapist in Missouri.

Kathy Bosaw, MSN, CRRN, an assistant professor at Graceland University, took students to Nurse Advocacy Day. She said she wanted her students to realize their voices are important.

“At a very young age people can realize that their voice really does count,” Bosaw said.

Voegele said legislators took an interest in the students.

“It was my observation that the students were impressed by how much the legislators were interested,” he said. “They were interested in talking to students. They were interested in people’s perspectives.”

Nurse Advocacy Day shows students their role in the political process.

“Each person’s voice really does make a difference,” Voegele said.

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