Policy and Politics for Nurses
- Briefly discuss the history of nursing advocacy and what your advocacy role is in changing the future of health care policy
Nurses are expected to provide high quality and compassionate care to their patients. At the same time, nurses have a duty to advocate for the needs of their patients who may be individuals, families, populations, and communities. Nurses have played this role for decades. For instance, pioneer nurses, such as Florence Nightingale, realized the need for proper training for individuals set to work in the field of healthcare as nurses. Consequently, Nightingale influenced the establishment of the first nursing program in 1873 (Nickitas, Middaugh, & Feeg, 2020). Apart from advocating for the establishment of nursing programs, the pioneer nurse scholars played a key role in the development of national organizations aimed at regulating the training and setting standards for nurse professionals. As early as 1920, nurse professionals lobbied lawmakers to support nursing legislation (Nickitas et al., 2020). In advocating for the enactment of nursing legislation, nursing professionals worked individually or through the national nursing organization. For instance, nurse professionals, such as Lillian Wald and Lavinia Dock, lobbied for healthcare reforms (Nickitas et al., 2020). Throughout history, there are many examples of nursing taking over the responsibility of advocating for the needs of specific groups of people who are gullible to adverse health outcomes. For instance, Lillian Wald and Mary Brewster started the Henry Street Settlement to address the needs of immigrant families residing in the poor neighborhoods of New York City (Nickitas et al., 2020). With time, the organization expanded exponentially. From what I have learned from the pioneer nurses, I have a responsibility to be on the lookout for the specific needs my clients or specific communities, groups of people and populations have either today or in the future. For instance, the world is currently being plagued by the Corona Virus pandemic. It is my duty to lobby lawmakers and politicians to avail the resources nurses need to provide the most compassionate care to their patients. In the future, the world may face another pandemic or even the worsening of the health problems already in existence.
2) Select one of the 4 key messages of the IOM report presented in Grady et Hinshaw. Discuss evidence-based strategies that could be implemented to address these areas and how you would measure effectiveness.
One of the key messages of the Future of Nursing Report states that “Nurses should practice at the full extent of their education and training” (Grady & Hinshaw, 2017, p. 29). The first evidence-based strategy that can be implemented to ensure that nurses practice to the full extent of their training is the nurse mentorship program. Nurses encounter problems transitioning from school to work (Grady & Hinshaw, 2017). These problems may prevent them from serving the clients to the level expected of them depending on their training. The role of the nurse mentorship program is to ensure that the pressure, stress and feeling of incompetence that graduate nurses encounter as they transition from school to work is alleviated. Also, nurse residency programs can help nurses who are about to complete their studies or new graduates to get the relevant field skills they need to become competent nurse professionals. According to Grady and Hinshaw (2017), nurse residency programs have shown they can produce positive results when it comes to facilitating an easier transition from school to work for new graduates. One of the criteria for assessing the effectiveness of the proposed strategies is measuring the rate of nurse turnover. Nurses may change careers if they feel that they are not appreciated or are being prevented from exercising to the full extent of their training and education. Also, the efficacy of the proposed strategy can be assessed by measuring nurse satisfaction rates.
3) The World Health Organization has declared 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife 2020. It is a chance to celebrate nurses, please discuss at least one to two relevant health care policy issues that nurses have and will influence in the future
One of the relevant healthcare policy issues that nurses have and will influence in the future is diversity in the healthcare workforce. In the last century, nurses advocated for the recruitment of more black nurses in nursing programs and healthcare facilities (Nickitas et al., 2020). Going forward, nurses need to continue to advocate for increased recruitment of nurse professionals from different ethnic and racial backgrounds. Also, nurses have and will influence the health care policies pertaining to disparities in access to healthcare. The current epidemic has revealed that disparities in access to healthcare remain a serious problem in the U.S. Over the past, nurses have advocated for better healthcare services to certain populations, such as immigrants, poor, and racial minorities (Nickitas et al., 2020). In the future, nurses have a role to play in ensuring that all Americans have equal access to preventive and curative care regardless of their financial, racial, or social status.
References
Grady, P.A., & Hinshaw, A. S. (2017). Using nursing research to shape health policy. Springer Publishing Company.
Nickitas, D. M., Middaugh, D. J., & Feeg, V. D. (2020). Policy and politics for nurses and other health professionals (3rd ed.). Jones & Barlett Learning.