Being nurse-politicians in Thailand: A phenomenological research

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of being a nurse-politician using Heidegger's hermeneutic phenomenology. Seven nurse-politicians willingly participated in this study. They used to be members of the House of Representatives in Thailand and had held at least one term in their political position. In-depth tape-recorded interviews, observation and field notes were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using content analysis and van Manen's method. The study findings fell into three major themes: 1. Becoming a politician. Nurses entered a political party for different reasons including: 1.1) born into a politician's family, 1.2) intention to stop corruption, 1.3) response to a family request, and 1.4) invitation from an idolized politician; 2. Applying nursing science to help people by: 2.1) being an honest politician, 2.2) applying holistic healthcare to help people, and 2.3) supporting health promotion rather than curative measures; and 3. Supporting the nursing profession. They supported the nursing profession by: 3.1) promoting the Professional Nursing Act, 3.2) fighting for adequate nurse staffing, and 3.3) assisting nurses who get into trouble from unfair management systems. The findings from this study provide an understanding of how nurseepoliticians experience being both a nurse and a politician. It is recommended that nursing institutions and nursing organizations should encourage professional nurses to participate in political activities and to promote nurse citizens in their efforts to become nurse-politicians.