This paper examines the career and contributions of Mary Wakefield, a prominent nursing leader whose decades of work in health policy helped elevate the role of nurses in governmental and organizational decision-making. Drawing on Wakefield's research-driven approach, the paper argues that nurses at all levels can expand their influence by conducting and publishing evidence-based research. It connects Wakefield's methodology to the author's own professional goals, suggesting that participation in research increases community acceptance of health care change and opens pathways for broader civic and policy engagement.
Mary Wakefield has been a guiding example when it comes to increasing the power and influence of nurses — both in general practice and in the shaping of nursing groups and policies. For nearly two decades she worked to provide recommendations to policymakers in Washington, as well as to various state organizations and governments. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) notes that Mary "has served as director of the Center for Health Policy, Research and Ethics at George Mason University, as well as a consultant to the World Health Organization's Global Program on AIDS in Geneva, Switzerland" (Mary Wakefield, 2010). Wakefield also worked with the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry, and the National Advisory Committee to HRSA's Office of Rural Health Policy. Her influence in governmental health care affairs is as varied as it is strong.
Her willingness to devote the time and effort necessary to gain that influence and to have her voice heard is an example of how younger and less experienced nurses can begin a similar pathway toward professional impact. When she first entered the political arena in the early 1990s, many doubted that this individual from North Dakota would be capable of bringing meaningful change to the health care system. Her research and her ability to write articles that expounded on new delivery methods for health care — and articulated the rationale for change — set a high standard for other nurses. One 2006 article captured her viewpoint well: "nursing has a role not just in implementing new directions in health care but envisioning them as well" (Wakefield, 2008, p. 49).
Wakefield's use of research to underscore the changes she wished to advance is an excellent model of a methodology for change. Nurses who aspire to similar influence can look to her example as evidence that rigorous, well-communicated research is one of the most effective tools available to the profession. Her career demonstrates that a nurse with a strong evidence base and a clear policy vision can achieve meaningful change at the highest levels of government and health administration.
According to the nursing profession's broader history of advocacy, practitioners who engage with policy research have consistently been more effective in shaping institutional reform than those who remain solely within clinical roles. Wakefield's trajectory illustrates this principle in action.
Applying this same research-based methodology in my present work setting would allow me to gain a measure of influence as well. Many of my colleagues are highly research-oriented and will often discuss and debate the finest details when it comes to facts and figures drawn from valid and reliable studies. Conducting research independently will increase not only my knowledge and skill base, but will also allow me to raise my level of influence within my group, with colleagues, and — perhaps — within the community and at the state and federal levels. Research can provide the evidence needed to support systematic change, and publishing that research can help promote successful courses of action.
"Published research increases public participation and acceptance"
"Author's commitment to research and professional impact"
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