response to euzomah-5400

This week's discussion topic is focused on a time when I influenced health care through advocacy. According to Nsiah et al., (2019), one aspect of patient advocacy is promoting patient safety and high-quality treatment. It means offering patients top-notch care, giving them a voice, and assisting them in developing relationships with other people they can trust. The advancement of health systems, public policy, patient care and outcomes, and the nursing profession itself is a longstanding legacy of the nursing profession. (Nsiah et al., 2019).

 In particular, nurse associations are still essential platforms for advocating policies (Chiu et al., 2021). These days, there is a greater focus on patient safety, which highlights the need for advocacy in promoting safe clinical practice. Studies have indicated that a deficiency in patient advocacy might have negative consequences. (Nsiah et al., 2019).The nursing profession's experience in advocating for policies is likely unique given several historical, social, and political factors (such as the gendered character of nursing, the hegemony of medicine, and societal perceptions of nurses and nursing). (Chiu et al., 2021).

Patient advocacy should never be ignored since it is an essential aspect of nursing practice. If we fail to advocate for our patients, it might hurt them. Nsiah et al., (2019) also disclosed that studies have demonstrated a rise in hospital-acquired infections as a result of nurses' failure to speak up for patients' needs rather than their own. Complications and deaths in some hospitals are caused by doctors' or other health professionals' incapacity to provide prompt care. Nsiah et al., (2019) additionally stated that hospital workers, especially nurses, have complained about patients being treated rudely and with disdain, underlining the need for patient advocacy.

Nursing advocacy in the clinical context is fundamentally about sacrificing oneself for a patient; this distinguishes nursing from all other professions. In a clinical context, patient advocacy focuses on medical issues, healthcare resources, patient needs, and public health as well.(Nsiah et al., 2019). I have had the chance to shape decisions regarding healthcare policy that will ultimately help patients in many ways throughout my professional career. I represent my patients' interests every day as a charge nurse on the MedSurg floor where I currently work. One notable instance occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic when there was a staff and resident scarcity or shortage of PPES. Along with other nurses, I took the initiative to actively contact the relevant parties to guarantee that our patients and staff had access to PPES, which would further minimize the COVID-19 infection from spreading. 

Thank you.

Chiu, P., Cummings, G. G., Thorne, S., & Schick-Makaroff, K. (2021). Policy Advocacy and Nursing Organizations: A Scoping Review. Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice, 22(4), 271-291. https://doi.org/10.1177/15271544211050611

Nsiah, C., Siakwa, M., & K. Ninnoni, J. P. (2019). Registered Nurses' description of patient advocacy in the clinical setting. Nursing Open, 6(3), 1124-1132. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.307