Healing Politics Campaign School For Nurses & Midwives

“Nurses have been front and center during the COVID crisis. We are the most trusted profession in the United States. There’s no better time than the present to run or help nurses and midwives who run, win.”

This month, Polis: Center for Politics and Healing Politics hosted an inaugural Campaign School for Nurses & Midwives. Healing Politics, founded by Kimberly Gordon and Lisa Summers, aims to foster civic engagement in the healthcare community and help nurses and midwives develop the skills and knowledge needed to run for public office. Over the course of three days, participants dug deep into such topics as campaign planning, budgeting, and fundraising; communications strategies and media training; and grassroots organizing and voter mobilization.

Sanford Professor Nick Carnes and Tim Nanof of the American Nurse Association welcomed the inaugural cohort to Duke University. Participants also got to hear from Stacey Chappell of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, Lieutenant Governor of Delaware Dr. Bethany Hall-Long, and NC Representative Diamond Staton-Williams.

“Who is at the table will affect the problems that are seen and recognized and addressed, and the solutions that enter the conversation.” 

“So it is of the utmost importance that we do not have decisions about healthcare, decisions about our community, decisions about anything that affects the wellbeing of people made in a vacuum without nurses and midwives present to inform that decision.”

– Professor Nick Carnes

Participants also got to hear from a panel of nurse legislators including North Carolina Senator Gale Adcock, Minnesota Senator Erin Murphy, and North Dakota Senator Kristin Roers on the importance of healthcare workers representation in public office and how their nursing perspective and expertise has shaped their success.

In a fireside chat with Polis Director Professor Deondra Rose, Former Congressman David E. Price outlined the best ways to get into politics and make measurable change. Price gave powerful insights from his years in public service while also underscoring the impact that our elected officials—ideally hailing from a range of personal and professional backgrounds–can have for our democracy.

Click here to learn more about Healing Politics.

Additional Resources:

Celebrating Our Inaugural Campaign School, Healing Politics
“Duke University Offers Course for Nurses, Midwives Looking to Enter Politics,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Duke University Launches Course to Train Nurses in Politics,” Nurse