How should nurses assure policy Change for advanced practice registered nurses?
Group 4
Marian Orozco
Betsy Fernandez
Adrian Medina
Carlos Salgado
Oscar Benitez
Miami Regional University
Healthcare Policy and Delivery Systems
Dr. Maureen James
How should nurses assure policy Change for advanced practice registered nurses?
Nurse practitioners are essential advocates for health care policy. They have the clinical expertise and the educational background to present the case for passing legislation on health care issues. NPs are on the front lines of health care and treat multiple patients with unique needs and can relate personal experiences regarding how legislation can impact these patients.
Nurses are being effective advocates for policy change, including learning about the legislative process; participating in listservs and legislative action alerts; participating in coalitions; contacting or meeting with elected officials; and providing expert testimony to help.
As nurse leaders, NPs must be involved in health policy. The NPs who advocate for major health policies can influence countless people throughout their state and the nation, depending on the level of the health policy.
NPs have the capacity to change health care for individuals for many years to come. NPs can conduct quality improvement projects in their working environments, and can use their findings to help implement new policies at the facilities where they work. NPs can attend local meetings, such as parent-teacher association or school board meetings, and share their passion and interest in efforts to improve the health of students.
Another major way NPs can affect health policy is to write to their state or federal legislators regarding a health policy bill that has been filed. Because they work with patients on a daily basis, NPs can share personal stories about how an enacted bill could have helped a specific patient reduce complications, or perhaps may have reduced health costs by screening or treatment at an earlier disease stage. Talking points should include the economic impact of the disease or condition and how economic resources could be reduced or reallocated.
NPs can join organizations that lobby on behalf of patients. Those NPs who are members of professional nursing organizations have the credentials to offer relevant personal testimony supporting the need for a bill. NPs should let legislators know which organizations they are members of and how they work with patients on a daily basis. NPs can join health policy committees within nursing organizations and work on formulating health policy priorities.
Involvement in health policy is the most important role an NP can have in impacting positive change in health care that will benefit multiple generations of patients across institutions, states, the nation, and even globally. Together we can significantly improve the health of patients through our involvement on the front lines of health policy.
Policy advocacy and committed resources are essential to address social factors that shape population health through targeted social determinants, particularly on behalf of poor and disadvantaged persons. We discuss components of the right social policies and consider evidence-based policies that have linked improvements in social and economic conditions with increased physical, emotional, and mental health outcomes among poor and disadvantaged social groups. With a partnership perspective, select social determinants of health and mitigating policies focus nurses’ social policy advocacy to improve the health of disadvantaged populations and reduce health inequities. We suggest nurses engage in multisectoral partnerships and adopt a Health in All Policies approach to address social and health needs of concern. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners is taking an active role in changing health care for the better by dedicating this issue to health policy topics that NPs are passionate about. NPs have an obligation to be involved in health policy at all levels.
References
Chilton, L. (2015). Nurse Practitioners Have an Essential Role in Health Policy. Define_me. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://www.npjournal.org/article/S1555-4155(14)00687-4/fulltext#relatedArticles.
Nurses and policy Advocacy
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Instructor’s Name
Date
Nurses and policy Advocacy
Introduction
Health systems are dynamic and rapidly developing. Nurses, as part of the healthcare system, take part in change. Policymaking is crucial in healthcare is crucial to improve services. Nurses influence health policies to protect patient safety, increase the quality of care, and facilitate access to quality health care (Tomajan, 2012). Advanced registered nurses are uniquely qualified to play a major role in the development of nursing policy. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how nurses assure policy Change for advanced practice registered nurses.
There are so many ways that nurses can explore to engage in policy change advocacy in healthcare. Nurses can influence health policy at various levels, including at the organizational level, at the local level, as well as at the national level. According to Marymount University (2021), nurses can leverage leadership skills to influence policy change. At the organizational level, nurses influence policy bringing advocacy skills to the boardroom for policy transformations to push for policy transformation. For instance, Nurse leaders can promote shared governance models at their workplace (Tomajan, 2012). The shared decision-making model is a decision-making model that empowers nurses to make decisions about nursing practice. There are several ways in which a nurse can assure policy change for advanced practice registered nurses. For example, they can advocate for other nurses to optimize staffing levels, prioritize professional development, and ensure an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (Burke, 2016). Nurse leaders can promote safe working conditions to protect both the nurses and the patients from accidents and other dangers.
At the local level, nurses may get involves in policy and politics to influence health policy. Nurses can be politically active by assuming leadership positions in the healthcare systems. They could also contact state officials directly regarding policy (Marymount University, 2021). Nurses can obtain formal training in politics, become involved in city councils and committees, or even run for local office. Simple issues such as exercising their rights to vote are also a way of advocating for a policy change.
At the state and federal levels, nurses can do so by joining professional organizations that normally have lobbyists that can express nursing issues to the authorities or government officials. These groups can write letters to or meet with the legislators and nurses can have their issues addressed (Burke, 2016). The nursing professional organizations are known for campaigns for legislation that have a direct impact on nurses’ supply and nurse working conditions. They may also join state nursing organizations, where they get the opportunity to advocate for full practice authority. Nurses can also assure policy change by writing to their state representatives regarding health policy (Marymount University, 2021). They can also undertake internship internships with elected leaders to personally work on burning issues. One important way a nurse can advocate for policy change is by running for a public office. When a nurse becomes a legislator, they will be able to present issues to the Houses or the President directly.
Conclusion
Policymaking is crucial in healthcare is crucial to improve services. Nurses influence health policies to protect patient safety, increase the quality of care, and facilitate access to quality health care. Nurses can influence policy change in several ways. They can leverage leadership skills to improve policy. They can also write to their representatives. Nurses can also vie for public offices to become legislators.
Reference
Burke, A. (2016). Influence through policy: Nurses have a unique role. https://nursingcentered.sigmanursing.org/commentary/more-commentary/Vol42_2_nurses-have-a-unique-role
Marymount University. (2021). 5 Ways Nurses Can Shape Policy. https://online.marymount.edu/blog/nursing-influence-on-health-care-policy
Tomajan, K. (2012). Advocating for nurses and nursing. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 17(1), 4. https://neltoolkit.rnao.ca/sites/default/files/Advocating%20for%20Nurses%20and%20Nursing%202012.pdf