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Nurses are on the front line of patient care and advocacy and are among those affected by the policies developed about health care.

DISCUSSION 1

Nurses are on the front line of patient care and advocacy and are among those affected by the policies developed about health care. Nurses are stakeholders in public health policy-making and development, but so often are marginalized, working “as policy implementers rather than as policy developers,” Rasheed (2020) noted. RNs and APRNs, as agents of change, must also be advocates for themselves and the profession by taking a more significant role in the policy-making process.

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     Many professional nursing associations offer opportunities to participate in policy-making. The American Nurses Association (ANA, n.d.) states that “advocacy is a pillar of nursing,” and “legislative and political advocacy is no less important.” RNs and APRNs that belong to professional associations are often called upon to provide insight and feedback on their practice area, and the problems encountered that could improve given aggressive policy changes. The Virginia Nurses Association (n.d.), for example, encourages member participation in an annual Legislative Summit and provides resources about the state’s legislators and their legislative activities.

     In a literature review, Rasheed (2020) reported that “the collaboration of nurses with political leaders and the senate” is another opportunity for nurse involvement in policy design and development. Nurses make up the largest segment of the health care industry, not only in the United States but worldwide (Lewinsky & Simmons, 2018). Nurses outnumber legislators domestically, so it stands to follow that opportunities abound for partnerships. Further, many government agencies that influence policy hire nurses, such as the Department of Health and Human Services at the federal level, state-level public health departments, or participation in the House or Senate Nursing Caucus. Collaboration with policy-makers could even start by writing a letter or making a phone call to a district representative.

     Nurses must find opportunities to provide expert and evidence-based solutions. Milstead (2019) states, “The question is not whether nurses should become involved in the political system, but to what extent.” Nurses in politics might seem on the surface like a fish out of water, but nurses are far more qualified than many politicians regarding policies affecting the practice.

References

American Nurses Association (ANA). (n.d.). Advocacy. Retrieved October 18, 2020, from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/advocacy/

DISCUSSION 2

“The design phase of the policy process is the point at which the original intent of a solution to a problem is understood and the appropriate tools are employed to achieve policy success” (Milstead, 2019). The creation of policies, or presenting your idea, is how nurses can participate in policymaking. Actively working in the nursing field can help nurses see problems that arise and a better solution to patient needs. Bringing these ideas to congress to make changes will benefit the need of the patients. “Nurses’ influence in health policies protects patient safety, increases quality of care, and facilitates their access to the required resources and promotes quality health care” (Arabi et al., 2014).

Advocacy is another way that nurses can participate in policymaking. “We have been patient advocates in our interactions with doctors and administrators, why not with Congress“ (L. Phillips, 2020). Nurses should feel excited and empowered that they get to have a voice in the political world to make healthcare changes. Advocating for our patients is our duty, and I cannot think of a better way to do this than policy creation or changes. “As a component of professional nursing, active participation in the policy process is essential in the formulation of policies designed to provide quality health care at sustainable costs to all individuals” (Milstead, 2019).         

Some of the challenges nurses face when getting involved with policymaking are getting push back from legislators and finding the evidence-based practice to support ideas. Nurses must band together and fight for what we know is right and what our patients need. Becoming an active member of a nursing organization can help support new policies or change old policies. Support strength comes in numbers. Having multiple people that share the same ideas will decrease pushback. Finding evidence-based practice to support our ideas may pose a problem, but putting in work to find or create research will be worth it, in the end, to help our patients with new or changed policies. Also, becoming a member of a nursing association can assist with finding or creating evidence-based practice.

The strategies I think will help advocate for these opportunities is being involved in a nursing association and providing courses like this to nurses. I know I spoke of nursing associations already, but I cannot think of a better way to come together and share our similar experiences and ideas to improve processes and policies to assist our patients. Providing courses like this to help educate nurses and get them involved in politics helps drive home the importance of our voices.

References

Arabi, A., Rafii, F., Cheraghi, M., & Ghiyasvandian, S. (2014, May 19). Nurses’ policy influence: A concept analysis. PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4061635/

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