In addition, President Clinton has appointed several nurses to high-level positions in his administration. The federal government is a good place to work. There are a lot of jobs in federal agencies where people can be agents of change. Nurses, doctors and other direct caregivers have some sense of what patients go through, which is important. They bring perspective to policymaking.
Health professionals have good communication skills, so they're naturals.
If you can convince someone to drink Metamucil, you can convince him or her to vote with you on your issue. We're incredibly credible, and we're also good at looking at the big picture. If Governor Bush is elected, the position will be vacant from January 21 until the next DHHS secretary is selected. But I will seek re-appointment, because I have a lot of ongoing projects that are part of this administration's and a Gore administration's vision of access to care for all people.