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from there to post partum, then to the intensive care nursery. After she moved to Santa Rosa in 1984, she worked pediatric in the outpatient clinic, then head and neck surgery, and finally dia- betes case management, where she works part time now. Burger's first husband was in the asbestos workers and insu- lators union, and encouraged her to attend regional or profes- sional practice committee meetings, which she sometimes did. But it wasn't until her first husband died suddenly in 1984 that she became really invested in CNA. Burger asked her man- ager for a leave of absence, a couple months off so she could serve as his executor and take care of other family business. Her imme- diate supervisor said yes, but that person's supervisor said no, that Burger needed a better excuse. She appealed to her labor representative, who "stood up for me and made it happen," said Burger. From there, Burger was recruited in the mid 1980s by Kay McVay, the RN leader who would eventually help spearhead the 1992 CNA staff nurse revolt, to sit on the Economic & General Welfare Congress (EGW), the governing body for what was then the "union" branch of the organization, and her involvement snowballed from there. Burger joined the CNA board in 1999 as treasurer before being elected to vice president in 2001 and finally president in 2003. She never really expected or sought to hold such high office with CNA, said Burger, but her colleagues encouraged her rise to lead- ership. "I think Kay and other people realized I wasn't in it for the glory or all the accolades," she said. "I was more committed to changing things, and was willing to put in the time rather than getting my ego boost." Many board members and staff who've seen her in action agree: Burger is completely unpretentious, kind, and extremely giving of herself and her time. With greater involvement in CNA came greater trials and expe- riences that boosted her public confidence, says Burger. She remembers the event that dissipated any nervousness she may have felt about speaking publicly: At a Region 9 meeting to dis- cuss the sudden firing of EGW staff (the event that would cat- alyze the staff nurse revolt), a member of the CNA "old girls network" that used to dominate the board started screaming at and insulting Burger, implying that she was being blindly led along like a domesticated animal, to put it mildly. A little stunned, but still calm, Burger replied, "The nurses aren't here to hear me scream at you, or you scream at me. They're here to get infor- mation." The crowd burst into applause. As she got more involved, she also grew more politically aware. Burger has seen nursing change dramatically during her 30-year career. It used to be that her managers were very pro-staff nurse and listened to the RNs about staffing needs and other issues. But in the early 1980s, things changed, and her managers became more driven by the budget's bottom line. Kaiser even hired effi- ciency experts to conduct time and motion studies on the RNs. Every move Burger and her colleagues made was clocked: how long it took to change a baby's diaper, how long it took to test a urine sample, how long nurses spent in the bathroom. She remembers actually that the experts were amazed by just how much work the RNs could cram into a shift. "They asked, 'When do you have time to plan?'" said Burger. Burger had always kind of believed in a national, single-payer healthcare system, but just didn't know it or think in those terms. When Burger was starting out in nursing, she noticed that treat- ment of patients varied depending on what kind of insurance they did or didn't have. "Some people had VIP suites, some people had more access to the nurses," she remembered. "I personally did- n't feel it was right to pick and choose what kind of service patients got. When you're sick, you're sick and you should all get the same kind of care." It took only a short jump from this desire that all people get equal access to quality healthcare to her support for a universal, national healthcare system. She firmly believes that education is the key to convincing RNs that single-payer healthcare is the way to go. "It's really encouraging for me to see people who were so against it come around," said Burger. "But their opposition really had to do with the fact that they couldn't see it any other way, that's what they were taught. If you spend enough time with them to debunk a lot of the misconceptions, they get it. But it's more than just one con- versation." Lucia Hwang is editor of California Nurse. Profile Name: Deborah Burger Facility: Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Unit: Diabetes case management Nursing for: 31 years On CNA board since: 1999 Sign: Pisces Pet nursing peeve: Complaining about something instead of acting to fix it. Favorite work snack: Any salty snacks Last work accomplishment: Testifying in Sacramento on behalf of keeping ratios and the Board of Registered Nursing, and eventually winning on both Color of favorite scrubs: Royal blue Favorite hobby: Gardening Favorite movie: The African Queen Favorite books: The Audubon series on birds, wildflowers, nature Special talent unrelated to nursing: Sewing, she made her sister's wedding dress C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E O C T O B E R 2 0 0 5 21