As a Nurse being an Advocate is part of your role, to advocate for your patient in order to ensure they are receiving the best care, especially when they may not have family or someone else to do that for them. So being an advocate is not a foreign concept to me. However, I can see that I have much room for growth and improvement to being an Ally and Advocate in other areas.
On the Ally continuum I am currently AWARE. But I am very eager to become more Active and ultimately an Advocate.
However, I now know that I need to have all of the information and a better understanding of the issues and history surrounding racism in our country to become that Advocate. And that as much as talking about the issues are important, LISTENING and HEARING are vital in this journey towards becoming an Advocate. And that I can take my experiences as a Nurse Advocate and apply what tools I already have towards becoming an Anti-Racist Ally.
