ANSWER
The potential impact of the nursing profession on policy and politics
Nursing is the world’s largest medical profession, with nearly 4 million nurses working in the United States alone. As a result, nurses have the potential to influence global policy and politics profoundly. Nurses have a moral and professional obligation to participate in legislation that affects their patients. When nurses influence policy that improves healthcare delivery, they ultimately advocate for their patients. Regrettably, nurses have historically had little influence over policy affecting healthcare delivery.
There are several reasons for the limited participation of nurses in policy and politics. A lack of awareness, insufficient skills, and limited opportunities for involvement are just a few examples. Another impediment is the nursing profession’s lack of formal healthcare policy education. Time and resources are additional barriers to the nursing profession’s political participation. Furthermore, studies show that nurses do not receive adequate support to generate the evidence required to influence healthcare policy.
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Regardless of the numerous factors limiting the nursing profession’s potential political impact, nurses are critical to developing and implementing healthcare policy. As the world’s largest medical profession, nurses should be at the forefront of redesigning the healthcare system. To do so, however, they will need to collaborate with members of other medical professions, such as physicians. For this to happen, nurses must be skilled in patient care, interdisciplinary teamwork, informatics, and technology, implementing evidence-based practice, and quality improvement.
Policies affecting nursing practice frequently frustrate nurses, primarily when those policies are written by individuals with limited healthcare knowledge and experience. This dissatisfaction frequently results in negativity, disillusionment, bitterness, and burnout. Nurses should instead channel their frustrations into making a positive difference in their field. “As nurses, we need to think of policy as something we can influence, not just something that happens to us,” says Oestberg.
The truth is that any registered nurse can impact policy and politics at the local, state, and federal levels. Locally, nurses can become politically active by taking on leadership roles in the healthcare system or contacting elected officials about industry-related legislation. Nurses can get formal political training, join city councils and committees, and even run for local office. Even exercising one’s right to vote can impact healthcare policy.
Nurses can participate in policy and politics at the state and federal levels by joining a professional nursing organization. These organizations frequently employ lobbyists who advocate for nursing issues on Capitol Hill. Nurses can also write to their state legislators about healthcare policy. Nurses can do internships with elected officials to work directly on healthcare issues. Nurses can even run for state office; there are currently two nurses serving in the Florida State Legislature.
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As Oestberg puts it succinctly, “If nurses do not stand up for issues that are important to us, those with competing interests in healthcare may be the only ones whose voices are heard.” By uniting their voices, American nurses can influence healthcare policy and politics. According to Marquis and Huston, politics is “the art of wisely using legitimate power.” The nursing profession has significant power to influence healthcare policy globally. Furthermore, today’s nurses are younger, more educated, and more diverse. They bring more vitality, ideas, and ingenuity to the nursing profession. They might even increase political activism.
On the other hand, nurses require assistance to effect change. Moreover, it all starts at home. Nurses’ families and friends must encourage political activism. Nursing schools must incorporate healthcare policy education into their curricula and encourage nursing students to participate in politics. Furthermore, nursing school faculty should participate in policy changes, serving as role models for their students. Finally, employers must provide time, resources, and opportunities for staff nurses to influence local, state, and federal policy. After all, healthcare legislation affects us all in the end.
References chosen
Association of American Nurses. nursingworld.org/NurseLegislatorDirectory.aspx. 2016.
The 2015 National Nursing Workforce Survey, Budden JS, Moulton P, Harper KJ, Brunell ML, and Smiley R. Journal of Nursing Regulation 2016;7(1): s1-s92.
Falk NL. A nurse’s resource guide for health policy. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing 2014;45(5):203–4.
International Nursing Council (2012). Nurses in WHO policy-making positions are leaving, leaving, leaving. International Nursing Review, 59(2), 155–158.
W. Kunaviktikul (2014). Moving toward greater nurse involvement in policy development. International Nursing Review, 61(1), 1-2.
Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application, Marquis BL, Huston CJ. Wolters Kluwer, Philadelphia. 2015.
F. Oestberg. Policy and politics: Why should nurses be involved? Nursing. 2012;42(12): 46-49.
A. J. Pamela, N. Edwards, and D. Spitzer. Kenyan nurses’ participation in national policy development processes. Nursing Research and Practice 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/236573