POLICY-MAKING IN NURSING

POLICY-MAKING IN NURSING

Policy-making

Nurses are often the first healthcare workers to notice when and how the healthcare system is not meeting patient needs. This is because most nurses practice in the real world of healthcare. Therefore, nurses can pinpoint when and where should policies, regulations, and laws that rule the healthcare system be enacted or modified to enhance quality and safe patient care. Advocating successfully for policies requires that nurses have the will, time, power, and political skills to maneuver in the legislative arena.

Opportunities that exist for RNs and APRNs in policy-making

Many opportunities exist for RNs and APRNs to actively participate in policy-making. However, two significant opportunities exist for them. That is professional bodies and the workplace (Parton et al. 2018). 

Various professional organizations exist for nurses, which can act as channels for policy-making. For instance, the American Academy of Nursing, The American Nurses Association, and Emergency Nurses Association are bodies that represent its professionals on policy issues while educating nurses to be politically active both at national and international levels (Parton et al. 2018). Besides, professional nursing bodies have the obligation and courses for nurses to engage at some degree in policy-making (Thomas et al. 2016). Professional organizations also ensure that policies implemented are effective and favor nurses.

The workplace presents a better opportunity for nurses to take place in policy-making. The significant role of RNs and APRNs is to deliver quality and safe care. Through this position, RNs and APRNs can influence healthcare policies and prospect healthcare delivery programs. RNs and APRNs ensure that policies implemented in the delivery of patient care are safe and effective (Parton et al. 2018). When policies do not meet patient needs, RNs and APRNs can decline to implement such policies by writing to policymakers a request to review the given policy. Thus, the workplace is a platform for nurses to ensure policies implemented promote quality care.

Challenges in the opportunities

Complex processes in the membership of professional organizations are a significant challenge for nurses. According to Halstead (2017), a large proportion of nurses are not members of professional bodies due to the intricacy of joining them. However, the challenge of complexity can be overcome by instituting simple processes that allow nurses to join organizations easily. Besides complexity, some nursing bodies are not far-reaching due to poor leadership, which discourages nurses from joining them (Halstead, 2017). Thus, reform in the leadership of nursing associations should be done. In the workplace, the significant challenge is poor leadership, which does not give nurses a chance to grow in leadership skills. Nurse leaders should encourage the growth of their staff and provide them with the confidence to challenge ineffective policies at the workplace.

The two strategies that lead to better communication of the existence of the available chances to policy-making include noble leadership and training nurses. Good leadership encourages nurses to give suggestions on a given policy without feeling intimidated (Halstead, 2017). Staff training, on the other hand, equips nurses with the required knowledge of their roles in policy-making.

References

Halstead, J. A. (2017). Professional nursing organizations. Issues and trends in nursing: Practice, policy, and leadership, 107-118.

Thomas, T. W., Seifert, P. C., & Joyner, J. C. (2016). Registered nurses are leading to innovative changes. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 21(3).

Patton, R. M., Zalon, M. L., & Ludwick, R. (Eds.). (2018). Nurses making policy: From bedside to boardroom. Springer Publishing Company.