Political Issues for Nursing
Which one are you most eager to see enacted?
According to the American Nurses Association, advocacy is the backbone of nursing. ANA plays a vital role in advocating for policies and issues impacting the nurses and the patients, such as the immunization policies. I am eager to see these policies enacted by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Vaccines, and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, together with the National Vaccine Advisory Committee.
Why does it interest you?
Immunization is an important measure that helps to ensure that vaccines are available to the entire community. The nurses are often in the front line of taking care of patients, and their chance of getting a hospital-acquired infection is high (Nohynek et al. 2013). That is why advocating for policies that promote the immunization of nurses as they are ethical and professional obligated to be immunized.
How will the passage of such legislation affect you or your patients?
Considering that immunization makes an individual resistant to many infections, the rate of patient-nurse infection transfer will reduce. Moreover, many patients will develop a stronger immunity that enables them to fight most diseases that impede the recovery process or increase the chances of being reinfected (Nohynek et al. 2013). Immunization helps in eradicating diseases that might affect the future progress of the patient’s or nurse’s health because new infectious diseases are emerging daily and spread across the globe quickly through patient-nurse contact.
References
Nohynek, H., Wichmann, O., D’Ancona, F., & Gatekeepers, V. N. (2013). National Advisory Groups and their role in immunization policy-making processes in European countries. Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 19(12), 1096-1105.