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the medical care she could provide, but for the emotional sup- port she was able to give. "We would just sit and talk to them, hold their hand, and make difference in their life by helping them to go home or holding their hand while they were dying," said Markowitz. To get off the p.m. shift so she could run a more nor- mal family life with her kids and second husband, she switched to the surgical, orthopedic, neurological floor in 1987, where she's stayed ever since. Just two years after she started at Good Samaritan, the nurs- es there and at two other San Jose-area hospitals embarked on a three-month strike over how little nurses were paid compared to other professions. Markowitz always felt unions were important because her parents had been union members—her dad was a welder and bartender, and her mom a waitress—so she signed up to be a picket captain, but she real- ly didn't have intimate knowledge of the union's workings. She found she was disappoint- ed by how CNA, whose leadership at that time was dominated by nursing management and not bed- side nurses, handled the strike. "It wasn't a good strike," remembered Markowitz. "But I thought, If I'm going to sit and gripe about it, I need to be involved." Markowitz volunteered to be the chief nurse representative at her hospital and steadily started organizing the RNs to work togeth- er to solve their problems. In 1991, she set about reviving Good Samaritan's Professional Practice Committee. Markowitz became more and more deeply involved with the organization. She helped bargain Good Sam contracts, served on the region 10 board, became a government relations commissioner for four years, and finally joined the state board in 2000. In her many positions, Markowitz has marched picket lines, testified in Sacramento, done public leafleting in front of stores during the Prop. 216 campaign, been a public speaker, and trav- eled to Chicago, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and all over California to organize nurses. "I've always wanted to be involved in all aspects of the organ- ization because I wanted to make sure I understand everything that I needed to know to be the best person in the organization that I can," said Markowitz. "My husband always says, 'CNA is your life.' In some respects it is, because it gives me such pride and pleasure and gratification to do the things we do for others." Lucky for CNA, Markowitz has a hard time saying no to more work. She loves it, so she makes time for it. "I like doing for oth- ers, that's why I'm a nurse," she said. Besides, she has the next generation to fight for. Her 35-year- old youngest daughter is also an RN. "She always saw how much I loved the profession and how good I was at it, and she's a lot like me," said Markowitz. "But I tried to kind of talk her out of it, because this was before the ratios." Her daughter didn't listen, and today works at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, where she's secretary of their in-house union. Markowitz wholeheartedly believes that CNA will be the organ- ization that changes unions, the healthcare system, and politics as we know it. The challenge will be to contend with the forces— such as healthcare corporations—that profit from the status quo. But given the public's trust in nurses, she also believes that if nurses stay focused and unified, they can accomplish anything. "The one thing I'm always working with and try to strive for, is I want the nurses to feel like they have the power within them- selves to make changes," said Markowitz. "I'll just be there to help them believe in themselves." Lucia Hwang is editor of California Nurse. Profile Name: Malinda Markowitz Facility: Good Samaritan Hospital Unit: Surgical, orthopedic, neurological Nursing for: 25 years On CNA board since: 2000 Sign: Gemini Pet nursing peeve: Having to deal with passive- aggressive, backstabbing personalities. She prefers people who can be open and honest. Favorite work snack: See's candy when she can get it Latest work accomplishment: Being part of a good contract at Good Sam that they just settled in July Color of favorite scrubs: Different shades of violet Favorite hobby: Loves shopping and traveling to sunny places and beaches Favorite performer: Elvis Presley Secret talent unrelated to nursing: Cooking 20 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6 C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E Feature Story "My husband always says, 'CNA is your life.' In some respects it is, because it gives me such pride and pleasure and gratifi- cation to do the things we do for others."