As president of the American Nurses Association Maine chapter, I am frequently asked how nurses view the presidential race this fall. Nurses are the largest group of health care workers in Maine, and overwhelmingly a female profession. The American Nurses Association Political Action Committee has endorsed John Kerry for president. The endorsement is not based on the Iraq war; it is not based on what the main candidates did or did not do in Vietnam; it is not based on the economy. It is not based on pro-life vs. pro-choice stances.

The endorsement is based on whether the candidates had a platform which reflected the ANA’s view of the value of nursing to society, and it is based on a vision of what the nursing profession needs for the next few years. There are many nurses who think that the workplace could be more “nurse friendly” and who are trying to choose a president who will enact such policies. They need to consider the specifics of Sen. John Kerry’s plan.

Sen. Kerry has proposed a very specific plan. Here it is:

1. End mandatory overtime on the federal level. This would echo a law already passed in Maine.

2. Ensure safe staffing levels. This would mirror the new staffing rules adopted in Maine in 2002 now being used by our state Division of Licensing and Certification when they inspect hospitals.

3. Combat the nursing shortage. Kerry was a co-author of the Nurse Reinvestment Act.

4. Comprehensive whistleblower protection. He also supports a Patient’s Bill of Rights.

5. Fighting for the right to choose a union. Not everyone knows this, but when there was a contentious strike of unionized nurses in Brockton, Mass., that went on for 110 days, Kerry personally mediated the negotiations in his senate office in Washington, D.C., and got both sides talking again. He brought it to a conclusion. For the record, on the Kerry Web site he lists the American Hospital Association among the groups which has also endorsed his candidacy.

6. Reduce medication errors and stop the scapegoating of nurses. This is a detailed initiative which is not easily reduced to a “sound bite.” You can read about it on the John Kerry Web site. We all know that medication errors are often a system problem, and should be treated that way.

7. Protect nurses from workplace violence. Does this need explaining?

8. Support Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNS). This too is a detailed package of plans for reimbursement and privileging.

Sen. Kerry also has a workable plan to reduce insurance costs, expand access, and make low cost prescription drugs available. This contrasts with the Bush plan which supports HMOs and shifts the burden for catastrophic illness onto the patient. Kerry is not proposing a “government takeover,” as his opponents have claimed. Kerry proposes to expand Medicare and coverage of children. These are reasonable steps.

We can create the future. We need to vote for those who have advocated for a “nursing agenda” at the federal level. The ANA has a team of lobbyists in Washington, D.C., and our members in Maine send about half their dues money to support ANA’s federal initiatives. Sen. Kerry’s plan for the nursing profession is very close to what the ANA has advocated for the past few years. That is why I am such an enthusiastic supporter.

Joe Niemczura, RN, MS is the president of the Maine chapter of the American Nurses Association.