Discussion NURS6050 - Week 8

Cassidy Braga 

Top of Form

         Opportunities for Registered Nurses (RN) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) to be involved in policy-making offer the nurse the ability to be an active member in progressing positive change in the healthcare field. By becoming a member of an association such as the American Nurses Association (ANA) will begin the pathway a nurse can take to legislative political advocacy. The ANA allows its members to vote on those who will they want to join the board, offering leadership opportunities to those seeking the challenge (ANA, n.d.) Nurse leaders can work at the state or federal level, even becoming attached to congressional committees and provide input about patient care, safety procedures, and advancing nursing priorities. These committees are involved in the formation and application of these policies as they affect nursing and public health. 

         Now more than ever it is imperative that nurse leaders become politically competent and learn how to bring their expertise to the forefront of dialogue in legislative reform. Nurses can become adept at the what leadership, or legislators, in their home state have a stake in policymaking and special interest groups that can push policies in a particular direction (Ellenbecker & Edward, 2016). By opening up communication with legislators, staff members, and lobbyist the nurse can be integral in determining which issue is addressed and helping sponsor and pass important bills. Legislators are expected to cover a wide range of issues, by becoming a trustworthy voice and providing expert advice, the nurse leader can change priorities in their state. 

         Challenges that can be encountered with being a member of a nursing association is separating yourself from the hundreds or thousands of members in these organizations. Often times, it can take being a senior or tenured member to be in a position to advocate for change. These organizations are generally quite large, and its members come from all over the United States, with every state often having varying healthcare laws and practice restrictions in place. Advocating for change at the local or state level becomes difficult and presents a challenge for the nurse leader as the expectations for their advocacy role becomes national and scope of change is much broader. Becoming involved with legislators requires not only substantial knowledge in the field of nursing and healthcare but also the ability to be able to convey this information in a way that can be understood by legislators as well as advocate for change. Without the proper connections as well, it can often become daunting for a nurse leader to become attached to bill proposals or influence the transformation of healthcare delivery (Arabi et al., 2014).

         Administration of hospitals are often in multiple positions of authority and advocacy groups, such as being board members of healthcare organizations in the region. These boards allow for broad communication and creating cohesive and strategic plans for policy change. These administrators can take an inside out approach by seeking out qualified and politically adept members within the hospitals they oversee to propel them into participating in the policy-making process. Senior leadership has a crucial role in developing and mentoring junior members just beginning their advances careers. By instilling the responsibility and importance of advocating for policies that improve patient and nurse safety is essential for future generations. Nurses can also seek to gain appointments to boards that are not directly related to the nursing field but have correlations that overlap. Adding to the health perspective and providing the perspective of a health official broadens all members of these boards and can allow for a greater encompassing strategy to elevate the community health. Social media is a critical tool in advancing the perspectives needed for policy making to a greater number of people than ever before. By using this method, expertise and evidence-based practice that has been found in other areas can be shared and by being a member of these groups online, nurses can bring this knowledge to their local legislature (Arabi et al., 2014).

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