Health Care Policy

Nurses can advocate for change in hospital environments, administrations, and governmental agencies or with Congress and designated supervisors. Based on the American nurse association, nurses must advocate for safe patient care, ethical observance, inclusion, and a conducive working environment (Abbasinia et al., 2020). Nurses present their issues to lobbyists, who in turn express their concerns to Congress if individual nurses cannot raise their cases to Congress directly. In this discussion, we will describe policy concerns that may cause nurses to lobby Congress and the strategies they may use to ensure their voices are heard.

More nursing professionals may trigger nursing advocacy. A shortage of personnel in a hospital setting harms the patients and the nurses. Low personnel numbers make the available workers work long or extra hours, which causes fatigue, lack of focus, and anxiety, leading to illness. In addition, the great amount of stress to which nurses are subjected, mostly caused by lack of enough sleep and overworking, may cause clinical errors such as inaccurate diagnosis and prescription, which may harm the patient, cause death, and destroy the hospital's reputation if the patient decides to sue a nurse. Nurse lobbyists can guarantee their voices are heard by hosting meetings with stakeholders or congresspersons to present their concerns or have peaceful demonstrations if their circumstances are ignored (Cronn et al., 2022).

Nurses also lobby for safe and conducive workplaces. Nurses are often in constant contact with their patients. Nurse practitioners are often involved in procedures such as wound dressing, blood transfusion, injections, and other surgical procedures that may put the nurses to risk of infections. Nurses lobby for sufficient personal protective equipment and training sessions for handling new or advanced hospital equipment. Ensuring policy change, nurse lobbyists can guarantee their voices are heard by visiting the congress offices and discussing the importance of safety and training in the healthcare sector. Nurse lobbyists can also address the matter by speaking in political rallies to ensure the efficient delivery of their concerns as healthcare workers (Groenwald & Eldridge, 2020)

Working for compulsory overtime hours for nurses is a healthcare problem that nurse lobbyists could lobby. Based on studies conducted by the American Nurses Association, nurses mostly work overtime due to insufficient nurses and health emergencies. However, administrative boards can navigate these challenges with proper planning. Nurse lobbyists claim that overtime hours deny nurses their professional right to rest, which is critical in their work. Nurses can lobby for the establishment of internal and external policies that address the issue of working hours and proper shift planning. In emergencies, nurses on leave or who have had enough rest should be the first to arrive at the emergency sites (Watanabe & Yamauchi, 2018). Orderly management and freedom of choice to avoid compulsory overtime work for nurses requires addressing by directly approaching administrations or Congress by formulating petitions online or writing letters to the congresspersons. Making an official phone call to a congressperson may also carry more weight in ensuring their voices are heard.