Advocating for the Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation Assignment

Advocating for the Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation Assignment

Advocating for the Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation Assignment

Nurses have a vast knowledge of the patient care environment and are best positioned to engage in the design and implementation of health programs. Despite this, nurses have been left out of the integral to the design of health programs. Nurses are equipped with knowledge and skills to evaluate, plan, design, and implement patient care solutions, a skill set that effortlessly transfers to health care program design (Oldland et al., 2020). The purpose of this assignment is to present an interview transcript of my interview responses about a healthcare program in our organization.

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Interviewer: Tell us about a healthcare program within your practice.

Interviewee:  The adolescent and youth mental health program is one of the most successful programs in our organization. The program was established two years ago to help adolescents and youths to cope with fear, anxiety, worry, depression, and psychological distress. It seeks to achieve this by building resilience and self-esteem in adolescents and youths and teaching them cognitive and emotional skills. They are also trained in improving social competencies, like conflict-solving skills, encouraging de-escalating behavior to prevent violence, and encouraging adolescents and youths to intervene to prevent violence in social settings. The program was created with the assumption that investing in the mental health promotion of adolescents and youths is an investment in the present and the future. This is because the mental health and well-being of adolescents and youths and how they are nurtured into adulthood affect the prosperity and the economic and social stability of a country in the future decades.

Interviewer: What are the costs and projected outcomes of this program?

            The project was established at approximately $180,000, and the annual costs of running the program are an average of $80,000. The projected outcomes of the mental health program include improving mental health outcomes in adolescents and youths. It is also anticipated to lower the number of young people diagnosed with mental health disorders by providing health promotion interventions addressing symptoms before they advance to a mental illness (Colizzi et al., 2020). Furthermore, the program is expected to lower suicide rates among young people and promote a better quality of life.

Interviewer: Who is your target population?

Interviewee: The target population for the mental health program includes adolescents 12-17 years and youths 18-30 years. This population was selected due to the alarming rates of mental health disorders and suicide rates attributed to the stressors the young people encounter in today’s world.

Interviewer: What is the role of the nurse in providing input for the design of this healthcare program?

Interviewee: The nurse has a major role in contributing to the design of the mental health program since they have more knowledge of the mental health needs of young people. The nurse’s role includes providing professional consultation on how the program will be designed to meet the mental health needs of adolescents and youths. Since the nurse is well-versed with the common mental disorders in youths and their causes, they offer input on the mental health preventive services that can be offered in the program to mitigate these disorders. In addition, the nurse is conversant with the mental health treatment approaches for adolescents and youths (Colizzi et al., 2020). Thus, the nurse can advise on the interventions that should be included in the program to address mental health issues in youths effectively.

Furthermore, the nurse has a role in identifying the program’s priorities and ensuring that the services provided in the program prioritize them to ensure the goals are met. For example, the mental health nurses in the hospital offered input into the design of the mental health program. They were involved in decision-making, which enabled the program to run efficiently and meet its objectives (Colizzi et al., 2020). Besides, the nurses were involved in assessing the proposed interventions for the program, and they ensured they were based on best practice and evidence-based practice.       

Interviewer: What is your role as an advocate for your target population for this healthcare program? Do you have input into design decisions? How else do you impact design?

Interviewee: As an advocate of the adolescent and youth mental health program, my roles include evaluating whether the preventive and treatment interventions offered to clients address their health needs (Gerber, 2018). I advocate for delivering quality and safe mental health services for clients to achieve better mental health outcomes and urge providers to prioritize the clients’ safety. In addition, I am a voice for adolescents and youths facing social stigma for mental illness. I educate the community on the importance of young people accessing mental health services to improve their quality of life. Lastly, I ensure that all adolescents and youths seeking services under the program receive the same quality regardless of their race, sex, social class, and cultural background.

 Interviewer: Do you have input into design decisions? How else do you impact design?

Interviewee: I offer great input into decisions on the program’s design owing to my vast experience in developing health programs in my professional experience. Therefore, the project team consulted me in every step of the program design, including managing the planning process and developing indicators. I impacted the design by assessing the situation and helping the team identify the program’s goals, target populations, outcomes, and objectives.

Interviewer: What is the role of the nurse in healthcare program implementation?

Interviewee: The nurse’s role in implementing the youth mental health program is to deliver the services the program seeks to provide to its target population. The nurse should ensure that they deliver quality mental health services based on best practices and fully meet clients’ needs (Oldland et al., 2020). For example, nurses working under the program are tasked with providing mental health preventive services to youths and adolescents, and they evaluate their impact on alleviating mental health disorders. In addition, the nurse has the role of evaluating the program and giving recommendations on how it can be improved to meet its goals.

How does this role vary between the design and implementation of healthcare programs?

Interviewee: The nurse’s role in program design and implementation are different because, in the design phase, the nurse acts as a consultant offering professional advice. On the other hand, the nurse’s role in the implementation phase is to execute the interventions and services offered in the program and evaluate the impact of the interventions.   

Interviewer: Who are the members of a healthcare team that you believe is most needed to implement a program?

Interviewee: Every healthcare team member is equally important in implementing a health program since each provides unique professional input based on their professional knowledge and skills. Every healthcare professional has unique knowledge and experience that the other members do not have, and thus their contribution to implementation is important. For example, nurses, PMHNPs, psychiatrists, counselors, and social workers are equally important in the mental health program as each profession has unique knowledge applied to meet clients’ needs.

References

Colizzi, M., Lasalvia, A., & Ruggeri, M. (2020). Prevention and early intervention in youth mental health: is it time for a multidisciplinary and trans-diagnostic model for care?. International journal of mental health systems, 14, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-020-00356-9

Gerber, L. (2018). Understanding the nurse’s role as a patient advocate. Nursing2020, 48(4), 55-58. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NURSE.0000531007.02224.65

Oldland, E., Botti, M., Hutchinson, A. M., & Redley, B. (2020). A framework of nurses’ responsibilities for quality healthcare—Exploration of content validity. Collegian, 27(2), 150-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2019.07.007

Assignment: Advocating for the Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation

As their names imply, the honeyguide bird and the honey badger both share an affinity for honey. Honeyguide birds specialize in finding beehives but struggle to access the honey within. Honey badgers are well-equipped to raid beehives but cannot always find them. However, these two honey-loving species have learned to collaborate on an effective means to meet their objectives. The honeyguide bird guides honey badgers to newly discovered hives. Once the honey badger has ransacked the hive, the honey guide bird safely enters to enjoy the leftover honey.

Much like honeyguide birds and honey badgers, nurses and health professionals from other specialty areas can—and should—collaborate to design effective programs. Nurses bring specialties to the table that make them natural partners to professionals with different specialties. When nurses take the requisite leadership in becoming involved throughout the healthcare system, these partnerships can better design and deliver highly effective programs that meet objectives.

In this Assignment, you will practice this type of leadership by advocating for a healthcare program. Equally as important, you will advocate for a collaborative role of the nurse in the design and implementation of this program. To do this, assume you are preparing to be interviewed by a professional organization/publication regarding your thoughts on the role of the nurse in the design and implementation of new healthcare programs.

To Prepare:

Review the Resources and reflect on your thinking regarding the role of the nurse in the design and implementation of new healthcare programs.
Select a healthcare program within your practice and consider the design and implementation of this program.
Reflect on advocacy efforts and the role of the nurse in relation to healthcare program design and implementation.
The Assignment: (2–4 pages)

In a 2- to 4-page paper, create an interview transcript of your responses to the following interview questions:

Tell us about a healthcare program, within your practice. What are the costs and projected outcomes of this program?
Who is your target population?
What is the role of the nurse in providing input for the design of this healthcare program? Can you provide examples?
What is your role as an advocate for your target population for this healthcare program? Do you have input into design decisions? How else do you impact design?
What is the role of the nurse in healthcare program implementation? How does this role vary between design and implementation of healthcare programs? Can you provide examples?
Who are the members of a healthcare team that you believe are most needed to implement a program? Can you explain why?