Nursing Skills Impacting
State Policymaking Alumna’s nursing background helps her make informed decisions and advocate for constituents.
By: Laura Toerner
12 | UC College of Nursing Magazine
Rachel Baker is applying her nursing skills to Ohio public policymaking. Baker, a UC Bachelor of Science and PhD in Nursing graduate, was elected to the state House of Representatives for the 27th district, which includes parts of Cincinnati’s east side. Since taking office in January 2023, she has leveraged her nursing background and professional connections to make decisions and involve the community in statewide issues.
and realized nurses’ skills would translate well to policymaking.
For Baker, a nurse scientist for Cincinnati-based health system TriHealth Inc., political aspirations were not in her purview until the pandemic took hold. After watching local elected officials make decisions about health and safety, she became more aware of government processes
As a nurse scientist, Baker works with bedside nurses at TriHealth locations to answer clinical questions with current research and available data. If neither exists to answer the question at hand, she collaborates with nurses to design a research study and publish or present the findings locally
“This light bulb went off that nurses should be at the table doing this, because this is what we do,” Baker says. “We make hard decisions with patients. We incorporate lots of viewpoints and different priorities, we collaborate with different people and we’re the person who brings it all together. And to bring those skills to legislation would be amazing.”
