Role of the Professional Nurse in Health Policy

7

Role of the Professional Nurse in Health Policy.

Chedeline Paul

St. Thomas University

NUR-415: Health Care Issues

Prof: Rousseau Rossa

July 24, 2022

Role of the Professional Nurse in Health Policy.

The most powerful force shaping health care policy in the United States is nurses. Nurses are critical to many aspects of U.S. health policy and have served as decision-makers in numerous areas such as how physicians should be paid and what kinds of interventions are appropriate for different medical treatments (Staebler et al., 2017). They are more than just providers because they are key contributors to change by voicing their opinions and influencing public opinion about current policies. Nurses are powerful in part because they are technologically and scientifically savvy (who says? Please cite sources). They have access to data on health care coverage and costs, which they can use to make decisions that help improve overall health care quality, as well as more efficient programs that offer universal access to public health insurance (who says? Please cite sources). If a nurse believes that the number of uninsured people in the United States is too high and should be reduced, then it might be logical for them to support initiatives that expand coverage. Their position could also influence them to explore ways of reducing the amount of time patients spend waiting for procedures that could potentially save money down the line. This paper explores the roles of professional nurses in health care policy, and it provides an action plan of how nurses can influence policy.

Health Policy.

Healthcare policy refers to the goals, actions, and decisions that determine how care is administered and accessed (who says? Please cite sources). Nursing professionals apply policy at every step of care from preventing the spread of diseases to providing healthy food and reducing the strain on government budgets (who says? Please cite sources). Policies are designed to improve human well-being. For example, the ACA (what is ACA? You must spell it out and place abbreviation in parenthesis the first time mentioned on the paper followed by the year of citation) requires that all health insurance plans provide a minimum level of coverage, including coverage for hospitalization. Back in 2012 when the ACA was first passed into law, there were already concerns that hospitals would raise their costs due to increased utilization (Staebler et al., 2017). By law, hospitals must provide care to anyone who comes through their doors, including those who cannot afford it (who says? Please cite sources).. Hospitals would be required to cover more people and pay for more treatment, but patients would not be able to pay for the risen costs (who says? Please cite sources)..

Health Policy and Professional Nurse.

Nurses' knowledge and expertise play a vital role in shaping health care policy (who says? Please cite sources). As members of the health care team, they are familiar with the latest trends in medicine and potential government reforms (who says? Please cite sources). They have access to statistics that can be useful for lobbying, such as how many people are currently uninsured or whether a new intervention is effective (who says? Please cite sources). Nurses also work as advocates for their patients and communities, which gives them an idea of what kinds of policies would best suit certain groups (Turale & Kunaviktikul, 2019). If a patient tells a nurse that he or she cannot afford their current medications, then it makes sense from an advocacy perspective that the nurse could come to support programs designed to make pharmaceuticals more affordable for everyone (who says? Please cite sources).

Nurses' advocacy can also be seen in the way they treat and interact with their patients (who says? Please cite sources). Nurses are more likely than any other health care professional to collaborate with their patients to develop personalized treatment plans (Turale & Kunaviktikul, 2019). Considering both the patient's personal needs and the kind of care that is available, nurses can be influential in determining which treatments get priority, whether a particular intervention should be used, and if there are options for increased access to affordable care (who says? Please cite sources). Nurses are more likely than any other health care professional to collaborate with their patients to develop personalized treatment plans (who says? Please cite sources).

Nurses also have a presence at all levels of government, from local city councils to state legislatures to Congress (who says? Please cite sources). They engage in developing legislation, writing, and interpreting laws, enforcing regulations, and monitoring the effects of health care policy (who says? Please cite sources). For example, nurses might be involved in determining which procedures or medications should be covered by public insurance programs such as Medicare (who says? Please cite sources). This position could influence them to influence their state representatives to fund public health efforts to reduce the number of uninsured people in their community (who says? Please cite sources). Nurses can also be influential in implementing healthcare policy at the grassroots level (Staebler et al., 2017). As leaders in their communities, they could come together with other advocates for access to affordable care and lobby for specific changes that are important to their patients (who says? Please cite sources). It is important to remember that nurses are more than just advocates for their patients, they are experts in health care policy who can influence local, state, and national decision-makers to produce positive change for the public (who says? Please cite sources). Working as a nurse allows them to see firsthand the effects of certain policies. If a nurse is collaborating with a community that does not have access to healthcare insurance, then they might support initiatives that expand health coverage (who says? Please cite sources). At the same time, they are familiar with the challenges of ensuring access for all communities and could advocate for better ways of providing care (who says? Please cite sources).

Nurses have widely supported measures that ensure access to coverage including expanding Medicaid eligibility and eliminating copayments on prescription drugs (who says? Please cite sources). They are also major power players on Capitol Hill, which is where many of the U.S.'s health care debates take place (Turale & Kunaviktikul, 2019). If a nurse wants to advocate for an increase in Medicaid funding for children who have grown up in foster care or become pregnant during their teenage years, then it could influence them to introduce legislation that would do so. At the same time, they could also introduce legislation that would ensure that such children were able to access healthcare as soon as possible (who says? Please cite sources). These two policies could come together with different medical care recommendations to determine how to improve health outcomes for these vulnerable populations. The way a nurse uses his or her position on Capitol Hill will depend on the issue at hand and their knowledge of the policymaking community, but they need to be aware of issues and use their position wisely (who says? Please cite sources).

Action Plan for Nurses’ Involvement in Health Policy.

The first step that nurses should take to increase their involvement in health care policy is joining the American Nurses Association (ANA), which lobbies on behalf of nurses for better access to healthcare and equal pay (Halstead, 2017). As a member of the ANA, nurses will receive the benefits of membership including discounts on products and services and access to continuing education opportunities (who says? Please cite sources). This will also grant them the opportunity to vote in association-wide elections, referenda ballot measures, or district committee elections (who says? Please cite sources). Nurses also could interact with members at the ANA's national convention, district meetings, or district conferences (Halstead, 2017). They will be able to participate in initiatives through the ANA Foundation (who says? Please cite sources). The ANA is a large and influential organization that represents nurses across all practice areas and life stages (who says? Please cite sources). All registered nurses are eligible to join and advocate for nursing practice (who says? Please cite sources). The ANA has an active policy department that monitors legislation affecting nursing practice from state to federal levels (who says? Please cite sources).

Another step that nurses can take is to stay current with what is going on in the nursing world by reading journals and blogs, like ANA's blog Policy Matters (Halstead, 2017). Nurses should stay current with what is going on in the world concerning Health Care Policy so they can be aware of new and proposed changes that affect the team members as well as patients (who says? Please cite sources). We are seeing a shift from fee-for-service to value-based care. This is a huge policy change that affects both patients and nurses. For example, for some financial positions, we will be reimbursed differently for providing service depending on the outcome of care such as did my pneumonia patients get better and did not return to the hospital (who says? Please cite sources). There is a need to show that value is being added to care instead of simply billing a patient (who says? Please cite sources).

Nurses should also get involved by attending local meetings and learning more about issues that matter to them. The most important thing to keep in mind is the process of health care policy starts with informing oneself about what is happening in your specific country or state. This is vital in getting a feel for how things work because even though you are an individual nurse with opinions and ideas, you still need to be able to work within the system to achieve change (who says? Please cite sources). In the U.S, nurses need to work alongside hospital administrators, state, and federal legislators, and even health care reform advocates to help push through legislation that is favorable to both patients and nurses (who says? Please cite sources).

Conclusion. No period after conclusion

In conclusion, nurses should stay informed about important healthcare issues concerning healthcare policy. All nurses who are members of ANA should ensure that they get educated at the organization's yearly convention, where they provide sessions on innovative topics like remote nursing practice or healthcare delivery reform. Nurses should always be on the frontline in knowing what is happening in their state. Agencies like the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the National Governors Association provide information, tools, and advocacy opportunities for improving healthcare policy at the state level. In addition to being a registered nurse, it is also helpful to be a registered voter.

Issues with the paper:

· Please support your statements with the literature by adding in-text citations. You may not write from experience, the expectation is to write from the articles/textbooks you researched to develop the paper.

· Otherwise, your paper is well-organized, has a great introduction and conclusion

· Please make changes and resubmit

·

References.

Halstead, J. A. (2017). Professional nursing organizations. Issues and trends in nursing: Practice, policy, and leadership, 107-118. https://www.worldcat.org/title/issues-and-trends-in-nursing-practice-policy-and-leadership/oclc/971018982

Staebler, S., Campbell, J., Cornelius, P., Fallin-Bennett, A., Fry-Bowers, E., Kung, Y. M., ... & Miller, J. (2017). Policy and political advocacy: Comparison study of nursing faculty to determine current practices, perceptions, and barriers to teaching health policy. Journal of Professional Nursing, 33(5), 350-355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2017.04.001

Turale, S., & Kunaviktikul, W. (2019). The contribution of nurses to health policy and advocacy requires leaders to provide training and mentorship. International nursing review, 66(3), 302-304. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12550