Nurse Day at the Capitol

Bryan Sims, a May candidate for the master of science in nursing degree with a family nurse practitioner major, consults with fellow students before the group boarded a bus bound for the State Capitol in Austin. Sims and Dr. Carol Binzer, associate dean for students in the School of Nursing, organized the March 7 trip that enabled nursing students to learn more about the legislative process and the role nurses can play in it. About 1,500 nurses and nursing students from around the state - including 150 from the Health Science Center - attended committee meetings at the Capitol and visited with lawmakers. Several issues important to the nursing profession, including the increasing shortage of nurses and nursing faculty, are being discussed in the Legislature this session. During a campus meeting prior to Nurse Day, Jennifer Cook of the Texas Nurses Association and Wilma Hayek of the Department of Chronic Nursing Care briefed students on the issues and the importance of speaking on behalf of the profession.