In this issue of the Journal, you will read about three RNs – Natalia Kusendova, Kathryn McGarry and Ross Sutherland – who have made the leap from nursing to politics. Rewind back to the late 1990s and you will find this very same issue covered on the pages of the then RN Journal.

 In 1997, member and Bradford NP Kate Wilson was running federally for nomination as the Liberal MP candidate in her riding of Simcoe Centre. Nurses make excellent politicians, she said at the time, because “…nurses are used to working under fire.” As is the case in politics, in nursing “…you learn fast, the expectations are very high, you work a lot, and you learn to work under pressure,” she said.  

In 1999, Maura Bolger, Gail Paech and Beth Pater were recognized on the pages of the magazine for their respective runs as Liberal MPP representing Barrie Simcoe Bradford, PC MPP for the riding of Toronto Centre-Rosedale, and NDP MPP for Kingston and the Islands. 

“Everyone can join a political party and speak up when they feel that health care is being threatened. We need to get together and make our voices heard,” Pater was quoted as saying. Patience, a sense of humour, and a sense of optimism are essential qualities for a political career, she advised. 

Fast-forward to 2018, and the RNs featured in this issue share many of the same sentiments as their predecessors. Even though two decades and a plethora of politicians have come between them, the motivation and messages have remained the same. And this sense of same-ness is something we can see over and over again in this 30th anniversary series for the magazine. In fact, when you look back at the features published on its pages, you will see they could just as easily be features we have covered or would consider covering in this or future issues of the magazine. 

Let’s take a look at just a small snapshot of the late 1990s to reflect on what was on the minds of nurses, and perhaps generate some ideas for future stories to watch for…