THE UNSCRIPTED NURSE
Led by You and Me
My name is Sara Bergenholtz and I am the Unscripted Nurse. I chose this name because I think it's time for nurses to start speaking boldly and truthfully about our profession and the US healthcare industry. As the most trusted profession in America it's time we started using our voices to bring about the changes this system so desperately needs. It's not something we can do at the bedside and so I started this effort to encourage those in the nursing profession to speak up and advocate for change.
At The Unscripted Nurse, we’re ready for something better and change begins with those willing to do the work (for more information, visit my blog and the post “Why Me?”). That's why I am seeking to serve the Washington State nursing community as chair of the Council of Economic and General Welfare for WSNA. I am not going to ask myself to give any less than I will ask or encourage in anyone else.
Although this site will be used to support my current bid for election, that's not all it is intended to be. It is my hope to grow this site as a resource for those in the nursing community to more effectively advocate for change in our profession, community, and the healthcare industry as a whole. With that in mind, others may contribute content to this site as time goes by, but each individual contributor will be identified. And the site will not be opened to such contributions until the end of this election cycle within WSNA.
I hope to be officially serving you come 2024, but even if I'm not I'll keep speaking up. I hope you do too!
INSPIRING CHANGE
All Ships Rise in a High Tide
We don't have to agree on everything. In fact, we really only need to agree on one thing, what is good for one nurse is good for all nurses. It's why we have unions, which are supposed to leverage the strength of our collective voice to improve our working conditions and defend our rights. Yet what we've been doing hasn't worked as well as we might have hoped it would and it's time for change.
Help me start that change.
WHO I AM
A nurse, like you. I work in a rural 260-bed, level III trauma center located in Wenatchee Washington. I graduated from nursing school in 2017 and began my career in a hybrid mental health medical unit. In 2020 I moved to our medical oncology unit, before finally landing in my current position in the ER in 2022. I am a unionist to my core and believe that the power of those united behind a purpose and cause is one of the greatest forces in the world. I believe it is our duty as nurses and professionals to advocate as fiercely for ourselves as we do for those in our care, as improved conditions for nurses will inevitably lead to improved patient outcomes. A truism that is easily supported by decades of research. It is this belief that has led me to serve in our local bargaining unit first as a membership officer and then as our current chair, as well as serving a term on the WSNA Board of Directors.
Being a nurse has inspired me to be more than I ever thought I could be. I owe it to this profession and all of the coworkers and friends who have helped me become the nurse that I am to try and help advocate for improvements to our working lives that serve us all.
ADVOCACY
Ensuring that All Voices are Heard
Advocacy is an essential pillar of my campaign. There is strength in numbers, and we work to inform and encourage others to take a stand for what they believe in.
I believe that there are three essential pillars for effective nursing advocacy. As mentioned above, the strength we find in standing together will help us affect change. With that in mind, the most important pillar in my organizing strategy is member engagement. It is my goal to promote education about our rights and responsibilities as union members and to empower each Washington nurse to take action.
The second pillar is that of community engagement. Healthcare in the US is a labyrinthian maze only tread by the most steadfast of heart. It's no wonder the public has such difficulties understanding the issues at hand. By educating and encouraging the public to get involved we stand a far better chance of achieving any changes we want to see. Because do you know who listens to the public, politicians.
This brings us to the third pillar, political action. Our profession is governed by the laws and standards enacted by politicians who know almost nothing about what it is that we do. Whether it be through supporting legislation or nurse candidates through education and campaign efforts, nurses must become a political force. The dues you pay will never go to political spending but that doesn't mean we cannot help each nurse navigate the political world to the betterment of all nurses. As both a labor union and a professional organization I believe it is our duty to do so.
DO YOUR PART
SPEAK UP
Bring the problems and challenges we face into the light
SEEK KNOWLEDGE
Get educated on the laws, rights, and regulations that govern our profession.
VOTE. EVERY TIME.
Our silence and inaction only perpetuate the dysfunctional cycles we find ourselves trapped in. Even if it's the only action you take, each vote is an act of engagement that only makes us stronger.