NURS 6050 Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Week 8 Discussion 2 The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy-Making Essay

NURS 6050 Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Week 8 Discussion 2 The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy-Making Essay

NURS 6050 Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Week 8 Discussion 2 The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy-Making Essay

The American Nurses Association (ANA) advocates nurses to be at the table and participate in policy formulation and implementation as critical healthcare stakeholders because of their immense roles in care provision. Nurses form the largest professional workforce in the United States estimated to be over 4 million in different specialties and settings (Milstead & Short, 2019). Imperatively, both registered nurses (RNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) have a significant role in policy-making through different strategies. The purpose of this discussion is to explore ways that RN/APRNs get involved in policy making, challenges associated with the ways, and strategies to communicate the existence of these opportunities.

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Ways of Participating in Policy-Making for RNs/APRNs

Nurses can find opportunities to participate in policy-making through joining professional organizations, either umbrella bodies like the American Nurses Association (ANA) or specialty ones like the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) among others. Through joining these entities, nurses at different levels, get information and a strong voice to raise their concerns and challenges to care delivery (Rasheed et al., 2020). These professional associations offer a platform for nurses to enhance their skills and competences as well as knowledge on different health issues and lobby for changes to improve care delivery (Crisp, 2018). These professional nursing organizations have a clear commitment to advancing health policy and offer immense opportunities for nurses to engage different yet critical stakeholders in healthcare management.

The second way that RNs and APRNs can be part of policy-making is through meetings on advocacy and practice where they alert government from local to federal level about issues impacting health populations, communities, and individuals. As direct caregivers, nurses spend more time and interact more with patients than any other health professionals. Consequently, they are better positioned to serve as consultants to decision-makers and policy implemented concerning the needs of patients and communities that they serve (Milstead & Short, 2019). Because any of the policies will affect nurses in one or another, their participation through expressing their views and opinions, evidence and expertise in policy-making is critical. As professional experts, they become panel members and consultants as well as serve on the committees based on their input. The implication is that they provide critical information that directs policy-making.

Challenges to Participation in Policy-Making

Different challenges exist to deny nurses effective roles in policy-making processes. The first challenge is limited or lack of knowledge, skills, support, and awareness about policy activities and processes. Many nurses are not aware of their critical roles in policy-making while others lack or have insufficient knowledge and skills to be effective in such discussions and deliberations. Secondly, nurses lack an enabling structure among these professional organizations because of the top-down approach towards policy development. These structures, both in government bodies and professional organizations, deny nurses the chance to participate as they are only considered implementers and not developers.

Overcoming these challenges implores nurses to use resources at state level and national advocacy fora to enhance their understanding of health policies (Hajizadeh et al., 2021). Secondly, they can leverage specialty organizations to access policy resources and experts to help them improve knowledge about the issue. They can also network with other nurses to develop a unified approach to the issue.

Two Strategies to Communicate Opportunities on Policy-Making

Two strategies to better communicate the existence of these chances include training and transformational leadership.   Nurses can be better positioned to comprehend these policies and their dynamics through training and education. Good leadership inspires and motivates nurses to be awareness of their roles, responsibilities and position in care delivery. Effective and participative leadership will enable nurses to have sufficient resources, opportunities and time as well as train to be policy-makers (Jokiniemi et al., 2020). Nurse leaders should have workshops and programs to enhance awareness of the impact and importance of nurses’ participation in these activities.

 References

Crisp, N. (2018). Nursing and health policy perspectives. International Nursing Review, 145-

147. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12463

Hajizadeh, A., Zamanzadeh, V., Kakemam, E., Bahreini, R., & Khodayari-Zarnaq, R. (2021).

Factors influencing nurses’ participation in the health policy-making process: A systematic review. BMC nursing, 20(1), 1-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00648-6

Jokiniemi, K., Suutarla, A., Meretoja, R., Kotila, J., Axelin, A., Flinkman, M., Heikkinen, K., &

Fagerström, L. (2020). Evidence‐informed policymaking: Modelling nurses’ career pathway from registered nurse to advanced practice nurse. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 26(1). https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1111/ijn.12777

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

Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Rasheed, S. P., Younas, A., & Mehdi, F. (2020). Challenges, extent of involvement, and the

impact of nurses’ involvement in politics and policy making in in last two decades: An integrative review. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 52(4), 446. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1111/jnu.12567

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Discussion – Week 8
Discussion 2: The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy-Making

Word cloud generators have become popular tools for meetings and team-building events. Groups or teams are asked to use these applications to input words they feel best describe their team or their role. A “word cloud” is generated by the application that makes prominent the most-used terms, offering an image of the common thinking among participants of that role.

What types of words would you use to build a nursing word cloud? Empathetic, organized, hard-working, or advocate would all certainly apply. Would you add policy-maker to your list? Do you think it would be a very prominent component of the word cloud?

Nursing has become one of the largest professions in the world, and as such, nurses have the potential to influence policy and politics on a global scale. When nurses influence the politics that improve the delivery of healthcare, they are ultimately advocating for their patients. Hence, policy-making has become an increasingly popular term among nurses as they recognize a moral and professional obligation to be engaged in healthcare legislation.

To Prepare:

Revisit the Congress.gov website provided in the Resources and consider the role of RNs and APRNs in policy-making.
Reflect on potential opportunities that may exist for RNs and APRNs to participate in the policy-making process.

Required Readings

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

Chapter 5, “Public Policy Design” (pp. 87–95 only)
Chapter 8, “The Impact of EHRs, Big Data, and Evidence-Informed Practice” (pp. 137–146)
Chapter 9, “Interprofessional Practice” (pp. 152–160 only)
Chapter 10, “Overview: The Economics and Finance of Health Care” (pp. 183–191 only)

American Nurses Association (ANA). (n.d.). Advocacy. Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/advocacy/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (n.d.). Step by step: Evaluating violence and injury prevention policies: Brief 4: Evaluating policy implementation. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/injury/pdfs/policy/Brief%204-a.pdf

Congress.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.congress.gov/

Klein, K. J., & Sorra, J. S. (1996). The challenge of innovation implementation. Academy of Management Review, 21(4), 1055–1080.

Sacristán, J., & Dilla, T. D. (2015). No big data without small data: Learning health care systems begin and end with the individual patient. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 21(6), 1014–1017.

Tummers, L., & Bekkers, V. (2014). Policy implementation, street level bureaucracy, and the importance of discretion. Public Management Review, 16(4), 527–547.

***ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED ARE ALSO REFERENCES IN PDF FILES FROM EBSCO just in case you can’t open them. Thank you!

Name: NURS_6050_Module04_Week08_Discussion_Rubric

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Excellent Good Fair Poor
Main Posting
Points Range: 45 (45%) – 50 (50%)
Answers all parts of the discussion question(s) expectations with reflective critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources.

Supported by at least three current, credible sources.

Written clearly and concisely with no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.

Points Range: 40 (40%) – 44 (44%)
Responds to the discussion question(s) and is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module.

At least 75% of post has exceptional depth and breadth.

Supported by at least three credible sources.

Written clearly and concisely with one or no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.

Points Range: 35 (35%) – 39 (39%)
Responds to some of the discussion question(s).

One or two criteria are not addressed or are superficially addressed.

Is somewhat lacking reflection and critical analysis and synthesis.

Somewhat represents knowledge gained from the course readings for the module.

Post is cited with two credible sources.

Written somewhat concisely; may contain more than two spelling or grammatical errors.

Contains some APA formatting errors.

Points Range: 0 (0%) – 34 (34%)
Does not respond to the discussion question(s) adequately.

Lacks depth or superficially addresses criteria.

Lacks reflection and critical analysis and synthesis.

Does not represent knowledge gained from the course readings for the module.

Contains only one or no credible sources.

Not written clearly or concisely.

Contains more than two spelling or grammatical errors.

Does not adhere to current APA manual writing rules and style.
Main Post: Timeliness
Points Range: 10 (10%) – 10 (10%)
Posts main post by day 3.

Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)

Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)

Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)
Does not post by day 3.
First Response
Points Range: 17 (17%) – 18 (18%)
Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings.

Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.

Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed.

Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources.

Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives.

Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.

Points Range: 15 (15%) – 16 (16%)
Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings.

Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.

Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed.

Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources.

Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.

Points Range: 13 (13%) – 14 (14%)
Response is on topic and may have some depth.

Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication.

Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed.

Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited.

Points Range: 0 (0%) – 12 (12%)
Response may not be on topic and lacks depth.

Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication.

Responses to faculty questions are missing.

No credible sources are cited.
Second Response
Points Range: 16 (16%) – 17 (17%)
Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings.

Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.

Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed.

Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources.

Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives.

Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.

Points Range: 14 (14%) – 15 (15%)
Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings.

Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.

Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed.

Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources.

Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.

Points Range: 12 (12%) – 13 (13%)
Response is on topic and may have some depth.

Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication.

Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed.

Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited.

Points Range: 0 (0%) – 11 (11%)
Response may not be on topic and lacks depth.

Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication.

Responses to faculty questions are missing.

No credible sources are cited.
Participation
Points Range: 5 (5%) – 5 (5%)
Meets requirements for participation by posting on three different days.

Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)

Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)

Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)
Does not meet requirements for participation by posting on 3 different days.
Total Points: 100