Has it ever occurred to you that the numerous shortcomings you witness in clinical institutions or the general health care system may have their genesis in the health policy structures? Professional nurses play very critical roles in influencing the policy of a particular health care setting by developing and instigating an outline aimed at improving health care services and creating of a better environment for nursing practitioners and the patients. According to the definition of World Health Organization (2019), health policy refers to the decision, action, and plans that are established and implemented in a specific healthcare organization with a purpose of achieving particular health care goals within a society.
Nursing is the largest medical profession in the world with up to four million nurses in the United States only (Brokaw,2016). For this, professional nurse practitioners can be an essential advocate for the health care system because of their ability to influence the policies of health care profoundly. What's more, professional nurses have the clinical expertise and the educational background that renders them eligible for passing legislation on issues that affect the health care sector. The profession in nursing if grounded on the science of human health and the science of caring (Brokaw,2016). As a result, its operation is from an outline focused on holistically valuing people. Additionally, the profession strives to advance and foster peoples health every time across every level of society. To achieve these primary goals, professional nurses have to play various roles in health policy. Professional nurses have critical functions in health policy such as taking part in policy making and joining lobby organization that seeks to better the health care system; this is because they have the clinical experience in handling different patients, they can execute their roles by developing an action plan for involvement.
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Roles in health policy
To begin with, a professional nurse has a position to be involved in health policy. For any licensed nurse to provoke an influence in the health policies, they have to be part of the health policy (Chilton, 2015). In an event where a professional nurse becomes part of health policy, they can have a chance to advocate for major systems that would in turn influence many people throughout the healthcare depending on the level of the health policy. Also, being part of the health policy provides a professional nurse with a platform or capacity to change or to influence the strategies employed by health care (Chilton, 2015). This can be of advantages to patients and the nurses who may enjoy better services for an extended period. Therefore, for any changes or any influence that can be brought in health care, it all begins with being part of the health policy.
Also, the professional nurse has the role of advising the policing markers, leaders and the public. The contribution of every person in health care can impact the health policy system in one way or another. Professional Nurses interact with different kind of patients from diverse backgrounds, and they often have a shared passion and experience with their patients. For this, they are in a position to know what works for patients and what does not and thus, they are inundated to advise the policymakers, leaders in nursing practitioner and the public at large on a matter affecting the health care system. As such, it is essential for the professional nurse to offer counsel to the health policy committee for the betterment of healthcare at large.
Furthermore, professional nurses have an essential role in developing, suggesting and implementing new policies in health care. In the health care system, there can be several practices that are outdated or may need reconsideration and advancement. The professional nurse can be handy in such kind of cases where they can develop new policies that favor currently world situation or which are flexible enough to embraces changes in the system. For example, professional nurses can revise the policies on obtaining the patient's consent when administering treatment to offer the best services and at the same time earn customers satisfaction. Also, nurses can suggest changes in areas where they feel and think it requires health policy attention or reconsideration. This is critical because the policy team can be able to improve projects in a different working environment (Chilton, 2015). After the health policy has made changes in health care practice, it is the role of the professional nurse to implement the new procedures when administering their services daily.
Secondly, licensed nurses are inundated to attend local policy meetings and actively participate in the sessions. There are regional meetings that are held with a primary purpose of improving the health status of people in society and the services of health care in general. Parent-teacher association meeting, school board meeting and board of nursing meetings are examples of conferences that have a focus on bettering health care and offering awareness to the attendees (Burke,2016). The meetings often provide a healthy environment for professional nurses to share their passion, interest and a piece of mind in the specific health sector to improve the health care in the institution the meeting takes place. Therefore, the professional nurse role in attending the conference is critical and beneficial to the public.
Another function that professional nurse practice in health policy is to prepare health policy briefs. After visiting and participating in policy meetings, a licensed nurse need to write submissions that; describes the problem of the health care, contains a summary of the best available evidence of the challenges, clarifies the extent of shortcoming, and explains the problem-solving options, their impacts and offer strategies for addressing the policy (Domrose,2016). This is crucial in making decisions and implementing the same.
Moreover, professional nurses have a role write to the federal legislators concerning the bill that has been filled. In the course of executing their duties, Professional nurses get to handle deferent patients daily. For this they are in a better position to provide personal stories and experiences of how a specific enacted bill could have helped a particular patient to lessen impediments, or possibly may have moderate the cost of health care by screening or treatment at an earlier disease stage (Chilton, 2015). Moreover, Conversation points ought to include the cost-effective result of the disease or situation and how economic resources might be abridged or rearranged (Chilton, 2015). Therefore, the professional nurse should participate in bill enactment procedures by presenting their experience and suggestion to make health care more effective and efficient in terms of service delivery.
Furthermore, joining different organizations that lobby on behalf of patients is a vital role of a professional nurse. Often, some organizations operate to influence the health care system for the benefits of the patients considering that these institutions have a lobbyist who can bring issues conceding nursing to Capitol Hill ( Brokaw,2016 ). Such kind of organizations provides a platform for professional nurses who have the required credential to offer relevant personal testimony that support the need for a bill ( Brokaw,2016 ). When licensed nurse become part of these organizations, they can make it known to the legislators who lobby organizations they are a member of and how they take part in working with the patients daily. Therefore, they can take part in policy at state and federal levels which is of an advantage to the health care system when the plan is beneficial and service oriented.
Last but certainly not least, the researching of public healthcare issues in part of the roles of the professional nurse. The health of the general population is prone to have various problems ranging from mental health, chronic disease, and climate change to infectious diseases (Burke,2016) . It is the role of a professional nurse to research the issue affecting public health and how to curtail their impacts.
Action plan for the nurse to increase involvement
An action plan is a comprehensive strategy outlining activities that are needed for the professional nurse to archive the goal of executing their roles. It is the paramount need for a licensed nurse to have a goal-oriented plan which seeks to actualize or implement the functions of the nurse in health policy.
First, there is a need for professional nurses who take part in the policy program to take a course in research, communication, and leadership. Being a licensed nurse who can actively participate in health policy debates and meeting and come out successfully with ways of making health care system betters is not as easy as walking in a park. Sessions carried out in policy making require a person with strong writing and listening skills to take a critical point in a more brief way policy meeting (Burke,2016) . Therefore, one has to learn communication skills by taking a course on the same.
Also, the professional nurse should be persistence in doing research. Every research needs keen interest, time and perseverance for one to come out with facts and situation about a particular sector which will intern maintain along term commitment to policy making (Domrose,2016). Organizational research skills are essential in health policy, and every professional nurse should learn this skill to help them be at the top of numerous initiatives.
In conclusion, professional nurses have various roles to play in health policy aiming at improving the health care of a particular institution. First, licensed nurses to have a position to be part of the health policy and attend its meetings. Secondly, nurses in health policy offer advice to the leaders, policymakers and the general public. Also, they suggest, develop and implement new laws in health care. Another way in which nurses display their role is by attending local policy meetings and actively participate in the settings. Moreover, the professional nurse has a role in joining lobbyist organizations and taking part in policy making. Nevertheless, every licensed nurse in health should have a plan that outlines action to execute their tasks.
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References
Brokaw, J. J. (2016, September 22). AMERICAN NURSE TODAY . Retrieved from http://forms.coronapro.com/zQEkQuLA
Burke, S. A. (2016, February 6). REFLECTION ON NURSING LEADERSHIP . Retrieved from https://www.reflectionsonnursingleadership.org/commentary/more-commentary/Vol42_2_nurses-have-a-unique-role
Chilton, L. (2015, February). Nurse Practitioners Have an Essential Role in Health Policy. The Journal for Nursing Practitioner, 11 (2), 1. Retrieved from https://www.npjournal.org/article/S1555-4155(14)00687-4/fulltext
Domrose, C. (2016, April 12). NURSE.COM . Retrieved from https://www.nurse.com/blog/2016/04/12/health-policy-nursing-a-specialty-with-a-view/
WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION . (2019). Retrieved from https://www.who.int/topics/health_policy/en/
