Political Activism in Nursing

Health care plays an important role in the society that ensures healthy people and communities able to fulfil their responsibilities in the economic, Social or political setups effectively. The role that health care sector plays in the society is very important that has attracted support from both the government and the private sector as noted across many societies in the world. Nurses among other health care providers play a critical role in the realization of the health care objectives in the society. Community Health provides a platform where health issues are analyzed from the broader perspective and the impact that different actions taken by concerned stakeholders have in relation to health to the entire community. The political class has also actively played a positive role in advocating for bills and reforms that intended to improve health care access and provision as well as the concerned stakeholders’ affairs that include health care providers among other critical concerns about health in the society. However, this paper presents briefly a Bill (HB 791, HB 1046, SB 366 :) in the state of Virginia currently being debated that talks about Improved Access to School Nurses and my position about the subject. 

Statement on the Issue 

Schools play an important role that ensures knowledge and relevant life skills are passed to learners that empower them to make an informed decision and become successful in life. Schools, thus, have employed nurses among other health care providers to ensure that health concerns of the school's communities are taken care of and the schools in Virginia are no exemption. However, the concern that many people have relates to the ratio and understaffing that schools have experienced in the past. There is wide variability on how different schools in Virginia staff their school nurses. There are no clear minimum set standards to take care of the health and safety concerns of the school going children. In addition, The current status quo related to schools health and nurses fail to meets recommendations from professional bodies such as that of American Academy of Pediatrics and the Virginia Board of Education. Both have advocated for an increased ration of school nurses in schools that would increase efficiency in care provision as well as help the schools realize their goals with ease. Staffing of schools nurses presently is under the control of local school boards done at their discretion. Some limit the number of school nurses employed as a measure of saving on costs of operating and administering the schools that compromises the safety and health care needs of the school going children. The bill, hence, is important as it addresses the discrepancies noted from the current status quo by addressing the gaps that exist by putting standards and guidelines that school boards would use to determine the number of school nurses employed as well as realize the recommendations of the professional bodies. The current ratio of registered nurses to students in Virginia is 1:923. 

The bill (HB 791, HB 1046, and SB 366) takes concerns of all the stages and levels of schooling that include kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools. The proposed legislation would compel the school boards to employ one full-time nurse in each school or have the option of one nurse serve 550 students in Kindergarten through grade 12. The bill additionally addresses the economic impact that such amendments would have to the health sector. The bill proposes additional funding to cater for the increased expenses and financial implications that would relate to the changes in the current status quo. 

Statement of My position on the issue 

I support the bill and asking the legislators to pass it without a second thought. School going children give hope of the future not only to families that they come from but also the entire society. The proposed bill improves the learning atmospheres and impacts it positively as it addresses the challenges that many schools face related to safety and health concerns of schools. The financial implications that the bill would bring alongside with it ought to be viewed from the perception of investment rather than expenditure. It is because of the objective benefits that the bill brings that touches on students, parents, teachers and communities positively. A full-time nurse in the school environment would save time that students might spend going home or in health care facilities outside their schools to seek health care assistance. It implies that students would spend most of their time doing important activities in schools that would impact their academic performance positively in both the short and long-term. Parents equally would be impacted positively by the bill as they would not have to leave their places of work to administer medication or pick their children early to take them to health care facility of their preferred choice. It implies that the bill saves time not only for children but also parents and, therefore, they can engage in other useful activities that improve their welfare as a whole. Teachers would concentrate fully on teaching and not tend to students health care needs as they would be assured of the professional care provided by the full-time nurse. It would increase the efficiency of teachers. Communities would benefit as well with the bill that would lower the probable congestion as some of student’s health care concerns would be administered in schools lowering the costs and curbing medical costs for disadvantaged students. The above benefits that would results from the bill far much outweigh the costs and negative impacts that such a bill would have in the healthcare facility. The subject of patient’s ratio to health care providers has attracted intense interests from researchers and scholars and the related impacts not only related to the school's contexts but the society as a whole. Most of the research and findings indicate that the lower the ratio of patients to the nurses or other care providers the higher the quality of services delivered that improves safety and health. The findings as observed by Archibald (2017) assert that most governments have restricted staffing based on costs or financial implications. The governments fail to view the entire picture and benefit that would result from such development as noted in the examples described above that would impact the entire stakeholders positively that include students, parents, teachers and the community at large. The high student-nurse ratios experienced has increased the possibility of medical errors due to fatigue as nurses provide multiple cares to fragile children at different sites. Due to the many obstacles that school nurses confront especially when providing emergency care, some have designed specialized programs to assist them to overcome such challenges, for instance, in an emergency situation such as the Automated External Defibrillation (AED) program as indicated in Boudreaux and Broussard (2012) piece. The work acknowledges the fact that school nurses in schools are straining as a result of understaffing and, henceforth, it encourages such innovative programs that can assist them to overcome health challenges not only during emergency situations in schools but also other non-emergency cases. Such innovative program that nurses among other caregivers have designed try to solve the same objective and goal that the introduced bill would address. The programs try to address the issues in the short-term but the bill provides a long-term solution to the concerns related to nursing to students ratio that is currently worrying not only in Virginia state but across many other regions. To provide further evidence on the impact that nurse to patients ration has, simulation studies that include the use of computers among others as indicated by Henneman et al. (2015) have provided further evidence and support that encourage people to support the bill. The results of the study found out that the higher the ratio of patients to nursing resulted in increased delays in care prolonging the bedtime. It applies both in emergency cases as well as non-emergency cases. The bill, hence, needs to be supported by all stakeholders due to the objective outcomes that it brings to the school's communities and improved safety and health of the children, teachers, parents and the society at large. 

In conclusion, the bill (HB 791, HB 1046, and SB 366) provides a long-term care to the gaps and discrepancies realized presently in the school health programs. The school management board should view the changes brought by the bill objectively and not only from the costs perspective as it has more benefits than meets the eye. The solutions provided by the bill is sustainable that not only solves the issue of understaffing but also improves safety and quality of health provided to students communities. 

A letter to Congressman Bobby Scott 

Dear Sir, 

I am writing to you about my concerns to the proposed bill ((HB 791, HB 1046, SB 366: Improve access to school nurses.) that is currently being debated and the reason I believe you have to support the bill and ensure it sails through in the house. Sir, I believe you understand the impact that schools provide to the society and the hope about the future that children provide to a nation. 

The perpetual challenges that include understaffing of nurses in schools impact negatively on the learning and schools objectives. School nurses play a critical role in the school communities that include acting as first responders and provision of care to children with critical conditions among others. The proposed bill would provide solutions to problems experienced presently by school nurses and, hence, the reason I am asking you to support it. It would also make our state adhere to 2016 SOQ recommendations as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

The bill would impact the stakeholder's concerns objectively leading to sustainable solutions to the school nurse challenges. For example, Students would spend more time in academic work as they would reduce time spent seeking for health care services. Parents would also concentrate on their work as they would not come to administer medication or pick their children early to get health care needs. Teachers equally would concentrate on teaching as the full-time nurse would tend to the care concerns of the school's communities. 

The main concern as presented by most governments relates to the financial implications that the bill brings. However, I would encourage you to view it as an investment due to the long-term benefit that the bill brings. I am looking forward to seeing the bill sailing through. 

Sincerely, 

(Name) 

References 

Archibald, T. (2017). Efficiency and the Pursuit of Patient Safety. Alberta Law Review , 54(3), 697-706. 

Boudreaux, S., & Broussard, L. (2012). Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Schools: The Role of the School Nurse in AED Program Implementation. Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing , 35(3/4), 143-152. doi:10.3109/01460862.2012.708214 

Henneman, P. L., Seung Yeob, S., Brun, Y., Balasubramanian, H., Blank, F., & Osterweil, L. J. (2015). Using Computer Simulation to Study Nurse-to-Patient Ratios in an Emergency Department. Journal of Nursing Administration , 45(11), 551-556. doi:10.1097/NNA.0000000000000262