Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/657502
dream of people to have the force and the power to work hard to achieve these changes." Nurses on the bus typi- cally mapped out key cities, places, and communities to take the bus for maximum visibility and outreach. The bus appears outside of sports games, Bernie Sanders rallies and events, colleges and universities, farmers' markets, NNU hos- pitals during change of shift, music concerts, state land- marks, visited Sanders cam- paign offices, and even met up with famous Sanders endorsers along the way, such as actors Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover, and news commentator Jim Hightower. "I got on the bus to share with others what I and my coworkers see every day," said Dixon, who said she works in an urban emer- gency department and witnesses intense suffering by patients with complicated medical conditions who delay care until desperate enough to seek help. "However, what I have gotten in return by rid- ing on the bus is so much more inspiring to me! I have met and heard from Iowans who struggle day to day with issues that they face: family farmers, college students, workers losing their jobs to 16 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 Nevada Las Vegas RN Elizabeth Bickle was raised Republican on a cat- tle ranch in southeast Montana, taught to be "fiscally conser- vative" and to "pull yourself up by your bootstraps," and is one of NNU's most outspoken nurses in the state to support Bernie Sanders. In her early 20s, when she moved to a bigger city in Kansas to attend school, her politi- cal beliefs started shifting. "It broadened me and showed me not everybody has the opportunity to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps," said Bickle. After moving to Las Vegas, which was reeling from the Great Recession, Bickle met scores of very sick patients who skipped preven- tative care because they had lost their insurance coverage upon losing their jobs, with some now facing permanent damage as a result. As a nurse, she intrinsically understands that all people deserve healthcare as a human right. "Medicare for all, that's one of the biggest reasons that I support Bernie Sanders," said Bickle. "We're the only indus- trialized nation that doesn't support healthcare as a basic right." But Sanders aims to fix that. Being active in her union and the Bernie campaign has rewarded her in unexpected ways. "When you do day-to- day nursing, it is very easy to get burned out, to lose that joy and passion and sense of accomplishment you had when you were wet behind the ears and you knew you were help- ing people," said Bickle. "It's easy to get bogged down by the reality in the healthcare setting. My involvement in the union and the campaign has helped me rediscover that joy and I think it makes me a better nurse in the hospital." Sanders' positions on immigration, war, and veterans, among others, were what motivated Chicago RN Adriana Sanchez to spend long days going door to door in Nevada to have one-on-one conversations with voters about why she and other nurses endorse Bernie Sanders. "I have to do as much as I can," said Sanchez, who is the daughter of a formerly undocumented immigrant and whose husband, an ardent Sanders supporter, served in the U.S. Marines for eight years. She values Sanders' humanistic approach toward all issues, whether it be immigration policy or the treatment of veterans. "My husband also agrees with Bernie that if you can't afford to take care of the vets after the war, you shouldn't put them in harm's way to begin with."