NR 506 Week 7 Discussion APNs as Healthcare Policy Leaders

Week 7: APNs as Healthcare Policy Leaders
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to discuss healthcare policy of the APN profession and how Transformational Leadership can help to influence policy changes. This week’s assignment focuses on the APN as a Health Policy Leader, one of the nine NONPF NP competencies. Students will analyze how health policy may affect NP practice and how Transformational Leadership can help to influence policy changes.
Activity Learning Outcomes

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Through this discussion, the student will demonstrate the ability to:
1. Critically analyze how healthcare systems and APRN practice are organized and influenced by ethical, legal, economic and political factors (CO2)
2. Demonstrate professional and personal growth concerning the advocacy role of the advanced practice nursing in fostering policy within diverse healthcare settings (CO3)
3. Advocate for institutional, local, national and international policies that fosters person-centered healthcare and nursing practice (CO4)
Requirements:
Criteria for Content
• Explanation of how healthcare policy can impact the advanced practice nurse profession
• Explanation of why advocacy is considered an essential component of the advance practice nurse\’s role
• Discuss the four pillars of Transformational leadership and the effect it may have on influencing policy change
• A scholarly resource must be used for EACH discussion question each week.
DISCUSSION CONTENT
Category Points % Description
Explanation of how healthcare policy can impact the advanced practice nurse profession
25 25% Research healthcare policy for APNs on a state and national level and the impact on the APN profession
Explanation of why advocacy is considered an essential component of the advance practice nurse\’s role
25 25% Describe advocacy in healthcare terminology.
Discuss how advocacy is an essential role of the APN and the impact on patient care.

Discuss the four pillars of Transformational leadership and the effect it may have on influencing policy change
25 25% Define Transformational leadership.
Discuss how Transformational Leadership may have an effect on influencing policy change
Total CONTENT Points= 75 pts

References and scholarly < 5 years old

NR 506 Week 7 Discussion APNs as Healthcare Policy Leaders Sample

How Healthcare Policy Can Impact the Advanced Practice Nurse Profession

Advanced practice nurses (APNs) play a forefront role in applying evidence-based practice due to their expanded skills and professional expertise. In this sense, they are uniquely positioned to take a leadership role and collaborate with other healthcare professionals, including clinical nurse leaders, physicians, and nurses, to deliver quality, timely, efficient, and coordinated care (Heinen et al., 2019). Although APNs can significantly influence care trajectories by assuming a leadership role and facilitating the integration of evidence-based practice in daily clinical operations, they are susceptible to the subsequent consequences of regulations and laws.

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State laws and regulations can limit the independence of advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to engage in all aspects of nursing practice, including patient evaluation, interpretation of diagnostic tests, and medication administration. According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP, 2022), all the 50 states, Washington DC, and US territories have specific laws and regulations that influence the practice environment and scope for advanced practice nurses. These laws fall under three categories consistent with the practice scope for APNs; full practice, reduced practice, or restricted practice.

States with reduced and restricted practice laws require career-long supervision, delegation, or team management by other healthcare providers for advanced practice nurses to provide care. Also, such laws restrict or reduce APNs’ ability to engage in at least one element of nursing practice, unlike the full practice regulations that grant them the autonomy to provide care consistent with their qualifications, skills, education, and expertise. In the current healthcare systems, the failure to relax restrictive and reduced practice laws can significantly affect professional role development and the subsequent healthcare outcomes. Peterson (2017) argues that enacting full practice authority for nursing practitioners and advanced practice nurses results in more efficient office-based primary care visits, checkups, and fewer emergency visits. These benefits resonate with the determination to reduce overcrowding in emergency departments (EDs) and the overarching need to reduce health disparities, especially among people living in remote settings.

It is essential to note that restrictive and reduced practice regulations are examples of state-level policies that significantly compromise the APNs’ practice autonomy and independence. Amidst challenges perpetrated by these policies, APNs can utilize their experience, expertise, and scholarly influence to advocate for the nursing profession and population health. As a result, policy advocacy emerges as a strategy to challenge constraining laws and regulations that affect nursing practice and public health.

Why Advocacy is an Essential Component of the Advanced Practice Nurse’s Role

As advanced practice nurses face regulatory challenges that compromise their ability to provide quality care, advocacy emerges as a profound component for voicing their concerns and challenging public health laws. According to Williams et al. (2018), nurse advocacy is essential for advancing public health and promoting health equity through targeted social determinants of health. Social determinants of health (SDOH) are responsible for health disparities and inequalities since they capture conditions in which people grow, live, work, and age (Williams et al., 2018). As a result, being an effective social policy advocate means that advanced practice nurses operate under the overarching objectives of addressing unfavorable social determinants of health and the need to speak boldly on behalf of vulnerable populations grappling with poor social, economic, and environmental conditions.

Equally, the advocacy role for advanced practice nurses (APNs) is essential in tackling regulatory constraints that affect the nursing profession. Garzon Masks (2019) argues that the complexities of achieving third-party payor designation, costlier federal policies, and state-level limitations on practice compromise APNs’ ability to work to the highest scope of education and practice. Also, these issues lead to fragmented care, affecting coordination and the care continuum. As a result, APNs should utilize their advocacy role to influence these policies at the policymaker level and influence the development and implementation of more inclusive policies.

The Four Pillars of Transformational Leadership and their Effects on Influencing Policy Change

Policy change is an essential aspect of promoting the development, implementation, and sustenance of favorable health policies at the organizational levels. The effectiveness of the policy change process is consistent with the existing leadership styles for healthcare institutions. Transformational leadership is arguably the most effective leadership approach for facilitating change. According to Marshall & Broome (2021), a transformational leader acts as a role model of values and aspirations for followers. This leadership style consists of four pillars that can facilitate policy change; the idealized influence of leaders, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and creativity, and individualized consideration of group members (Williams & Broome, 2021). These pillars require transformational leaders to set standards and communicate purpose to influence followers in the desired direction, utilize their expertise, education, and knowledge to support critical thinking and creative decisions, and coach others by understanding their values, beliefs, needs, and perspectives. Eventually, adhering to these pillars motivate employees to pursue the collective course of action and encourages innovation and creativity by challenging the beliefs and status quos.

Conclusion

APRNs can assume the leadership role by utilizing their academic knowledge, experience, and expertise. While operating as leaders, it is essential to advocate for patients and healthcare policies that affect the nursing profession, including state-level restrictive and reduced practice regulations. APRNs can apply transformational leadership to influence policy change at the institutional level. This leadership style entails four fundamental pillars; idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual considerations. These pillars motivate employees to pursue the collective course of action and encourage innovation and creativity by challenging status quos.

References

American Association of Nurse Practitioners. (2022, April 15). State practice environment. https://www.aanp.org/advocacy/state/state-practice-environment

Garzon Maaks, D. L. (2019). The importance of professional advocacy. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 33(3), 226–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedhc.2019.02.004

Heinen, M., Oostveen, C., Peters, J., Vermeulen, H., & Huis, A. (2019). An integrative review of leadership competencies and attributes in advanced nursing practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75(11), 2378–2392. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.14092

Marshall, E. S., & Broome, M. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). Springer Publishing Company, LLC.

Peterson, M. E. (2017). Barriers to practice and the impact on health care: A nurse practitioner focus. Journal of the Advanced Practitioner in Oncology, 8(1), 74–81. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5995533/

Williams, S., Phillips, J., & Koyama, K. (2018). Nurse Advocacy: Adopting health in all policies approach. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(3). https://doi.org/10.3912/ojin.vol23no03man01