Nurses Day at the Capitol

Today I went to Minnesota of Leaders in Nursing day or MOLN day. It was required for school and I was really dreading going, but it turned out to be very interesting and pretty fun! We started with an introduction to the event with a couple speakers talking about their bills that they were working on. One was for advanced nurses being able to practice without having to go through a doctor. I did not think that was possible but it was already passed in seven other states.

Next we went off on a guided tour through the Capitol. After living in Minnesota my whole life I have never been to the Capitol so I got pretty excited. We stopped at some rooms and talked about what happened in each of these rooms and all the history behind the artwork. I do not remember most of the details but the architecture was gorgeous. My friends and I were trying to figure out if you could have your wedding there. We concluded that you probably would not want that since there is so much traffic that goes through there. It was hard to capture everything in a picture, especially through my iPhone but here is the best I got.

After catching something to eat, my friends and I met up with a legislature near the district where we live. We talked about a bill she was working on to ban e-cigarettes. She said that the company is falsely advertising these as being better for you than regular cigarettes. The FDA told them that they either had to prove they were better than regular cigarettes or stop advertising that way. They did not listen, so now the FDA is working towards stopping this false claim. However this could take years. So in the meantime e-cigarettes could potentially be just as bad as normal cigarettes but advertising that they are better and giving people a new addiction. You really cannot believe everything you hear.

Next, the legislature pointed us in the direction of an information desk to learn more information about getting involved and different bills to learn about. That is where I got my fancy hat. My teacher liked it so now I will just wait for my extra credit to magically appear in my grade book... right?

After that we went to a hearing on a bill that was trying to prohibit minors from using tanning beds, since it leads to melanoma cancer. There were people that talked about research they had preformed that saw a definite correlation between melanoma cancer and UV tanning beds. There was also a surviver who was only 24 years old that talked about her journey and how now she has to have weekly injections to prevent herself from getting it again. Her mom also talked about how this law would educate parents on the risk of tanning beds and help keep their kids safe.

I don't know if I am going to stick to this political side of nursing and try to get involved, but it definitely opened my eyes to the link between nursing and politics.