Another Saturday, another regional legislative lunch, this one in Redding, CT.
Jan asked me if I wanted to sit this one out, because it’s a two hour drive from my house. I appreciated the offer but I knew that members from SVFT and the Danbury Nurses would be there and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to spend some time with them.
Day in and day out, whether in the classroom or the hospital, they work hard for the people of Connecticut and their union sisters and brothers.
That’s why I wanted to be there.
Earlier in the week I had the opportunity to visit my alma mater, Three Rivers Community College, to be part of a panel discussion with the soon to graduate nursing class.
The invitation came through an old friend and colleague, Cindy Arpin, who is an AFT member and instructor at the college.
There were 7 of us on the panel, from recently graduated in December, to me (not so recently graduated.)
Our mission…..to tell the soon to graduate of our experiences as nurses.
I have to say, it was a big honor for me.
Five of the panelist were union nurses, and four of them, AFT members.
Including Cindy and I, AFT members included Jillian Bellman form Windham, Erika Borgnine from Backus, and Alex Timinskas from the Visiting Nurses of SE CT.
What do you tell soon to graduate nurses?
I told them what nursing has meant to me.
It’s not a job, it’s a life choice.
I told them that there will be good days and bad days but that they could not be better prepared having graduated from Three Rivers.
I also told them to never forget the most important lesson……
The most important role of a nurse is to be an advocate for their patients and their families.
And to do that, they needed to have a voice.
That’s why, when asked what advice we would offer when as they considered employment offers, I said choose a union hospital.
Being in a union means a nurse can have a voice and can advocate, without fear of retaliation.
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