The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation Essay

The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation Essay

The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation Essay

            Policy or program evaluation is a common practice undertaken in nursing and healthcare practice. It entails the determination of whether the desired project or program outcomes were achieved or not. Program or policy evaluation is a collaborative process. Registered nurses and advanced practice registered nurses are actively involved in the evaluation process, as they bring valuable insights about the effectiveness of the initiative (Al Faouri et al., 2021). Despite their influence in the process, nurses’ involvement in policy and program evaluation is often underestimated. Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to examine nurses’ role in program or policy evaluation in healthcare.

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            Registered nurses and advanced practice registered nurses play crucial roles in policy evaluation. One of the roles entails data collection for use in policy evaluation. Often, nurses participate in the direct implementation of healthcare policy. They educate other staff on the effective use of the policy in their practice. They also advocate environmental transformation to support the desired outcomes in their organizations (Al Faouri et al., 2021; Maier et al., 2018). As a result, they can participate in policy evaluation through data collection from the policy implementers for use in understanding the impact of the policy.

            The other nurses’ role in policy evaluation is data analysis and dissemination of evaluation findings. Nurses have advanced knowledge and skills in the analysis of policy data. The analysis provides a true understanding of the policy’s impact on organizational outcomes. They also act as disseminators of policy evaluation outcomes. The dissemination aims at creating awareness among the policy implementers on its organizational impacts. It also increases the need for the policy in the organization for its success. Nurses also participate in policy evaluation by establishing relationships with policymakers that influence healthcare policies (Turale & Kunaviktikul, 2019). The relationship is important to gain their trust and support for health policies influencing nursing practice. It also raises the policymakers’ awareness about the valuable impact that nurses have on policy-related issues.

            Nurses can also be involved in policy evaluation by becoming members of different professional organizations for nurses. An example is belonging to the American Nurses Association for them to be part of policy evaluators in nursing. Nurses can also act as advocates for specific policies that influence nursing through these organizations. The organizations also provide them with up-to-date information about issues that affect their practice and their roles as change agents (Clancy et al., 2020).

            Nurses should be prepared to address the challenges associated with their involvement in policy evaluation. One of these challenges is the negative perception that other healthcare providers have towards their involvement and roles in policy evaluation. Traditionally, nurses have taken an immense position in the provision of direct patient care. Their involvement in policy issues has been minimal. As a result, their involvement in policy evaluation might be new to most of the policymakers and healthcare providers, hence, a barrier. The other challenge is accessing policymakers such as political leaders. Political leaders may be hard to find due to their busy schedule (Barzegar Safari et al., 2020; Turale & Kunaviktikul, 2019). Therefore, they should explore effective avenues for presenting their policy evaluation findings to them in a manner that captures the crucial issues associated with it.

            In summary, nurses play crucial roles in policy evaluation. Their roles include data collection, analysis, and dissemination of policy evaluation outcomes. They also form effective relationships with policy evaluators and policymakers to enhance policy effectiveness. Nurses should explore effective strategies for addressing challenges associated with their involvement in the policy issues.

References

Al Faouri, I. G., Elfaqieh, K., & AbuAlRub, R. (2021). Involvement of Jordanian Head Nurses’ in Health Policy Development: A Cross-Sectional Study. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 22(3), 230–238. https://doi.org/10.1177/15271544211020999

Barzegar Safari, M., Bahadori, M., & Alimohammadzadeh, K. (2020). The Related Factors of Nurses’ Participation and Perceived Benefits and Barriers in Health Policy Making. Journal of Nursing Research, 28(4), e103. https://doi.org/10.1097/jnr.0000000000000385

Clancy, E. M., McIntosh, J., Booth, A. T., Sheen, J., Johnson, M., Gibson, T., Bennett, R. N., & Newman, L. (2020). Training maternal and child health nurses in early relational trauma: An evaluation of the MERTIL workforce training. Nurse Education Today, 89, 104390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104390

Maier, C. B., Budde, H., & Buchan, J. (2018). Nurses in expanded roles to strengthen community-based health promotion and chronic care: Policy implications from an international perspective; A commentary. Israel Journal of Health Policy Research, 7(1), 64. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-018-0257-5

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

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DISCUSSION: The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy EVALUATION

In the Module 4 Discussion, you considered how professional nurses can become involved in policy-making. A critical component of any policy design is evaluation of the results. How comfortable are you with the thought of becoming involved with such matters?

Some nurses may be hesitant to get involved with policy evaluation. The preference may be to focus on the care and well-being of their patients; some nurses may feel ill-equipped to enter the realm of policy and political activities. However, as you have examined previously, who better to advocate for patients and effective programs and polices than nurses? Already patient advocates in interactions with doctors and leadership, why not with government and regulatory agencies?

In this Discussion, you will reflect on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation.

To Prepare:

In the Module 4 Discussion, you considered how professional nurses can become involved in policy-making.
Review the Resources and reflect on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation.

Select an existing healthcare program or policy evaluation or choose one of interest to you.

Review community, state, or federal policy evaluation and reflect on the criteria used to measure the effectiveness of the program or policy described.

Learning Resources
Required Readings

Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Chapter 7, “Health Policy and Social Program Evaluation” (pp. 116–124 only)

Glasgow, R. E., Lichtenstein, E., & Marcus, A. C. (2003). Why don’t we see more translation of health promotion research to practice? Rethinking the efficacy-to-effectiveness transition. American Journal of Public Health, 93(8), 1261–1267.

Shiramizu, B., Shambaugh, V., Petrovich, H., Seto, T. B., Ho, T., Mokuau, N., & Hedges, J. R. (2016). Leading by success: Impact of a clinical and translational research infrastructure program to address health inequities. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 4(5), 983–991.

Williams, J. K., & Anderson, C. M. (2018). Omics research ethics considerations. Nursing Outlook, 66(4), 386–393.