walden-nurs6050-response to classmate-week 8

The policy-making role in nursing is important to ensure that there are standards in practice and that patients are receiving safe care (Reflections on Nursing Leadership, 2016). There are multiple opportunities that exist for RN’s and APRN’S to participate in policy-making. Two opportunities for an APRN to be involved in policy making include writing state legislators on a health bill that has been proposed, and joining an organization that will lobby to advocate for patients (Chilton, 2015). A challenge that may arise when it comes to policy-making is not having enough background information or support to be effective. To overcome this obstacle, joining a nursing organization allows the nurse to have support from peers and credentials to support their stance on an issue in healthcare (Chilton, 2015). Ensuring that the nurse or APRN has clear definitions and structured information of the exact issue in practice that is being advocated on will also help to overcome this obstacle (Reflections on Nursing Leadership, 2016). Two strategies to communicate the existence of the opportunities to be a policy-maker as an APRN includes finding a nursing association to join and providing testimony as an expert in the field to promote change (University of Southern California, 2017). There are up to 3.4 million nurses, which is the largest group of healthcare professionals that all have the potential to stand up for change and make a difference when it comes to healthcare policies (University of Southern California, 2017).

References

Chilton, L. (2015). Nurse practitioners have an essential role in health policy. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2014.10.009

Reflections on Nursing Leadership. (2016). Influence through policy: Nurses have a unique role. Retrieved from https://www.reflectionsonnursingleadership.org/com…

University of Southern California. (2017). Five ways nurse practitioners can serve as advocates. Retrieved from https://nursing.usc.edu/blog/5-ways-nurse-practiti…