Advanced practice nurses can be certified registered nurses anesthetists or certified nurse practitioners. They can also be clinical nurse specialists or certified nurse-midwives (DeNisco & Barker, 2016). Such people need the guidance and direction of health policies and initiatives since they entail plans, decisions, and actions that, when undertaken, help in achieving a society’s health care goals.
Policymakers create health policies to achieve various things because each strategy defines the future’s vision. The decision, plans, and actions that are relevant to attain this vision help establish short and medium-term targets and reference points. Health policies and emerging initiatives inform people and build consensus by outlining the expected roles and priorities of various groups in the clinical setting, such as advanced practice nurses (Collins-Bride, 2017). According to the Nurse Journal (2020), advanced practice nurses provide specialty and primary health care and thus have numerous functions in the clinical setting. Such responsibilities include patient diagnosis before admission, physical examinations, patient and family counseling, research studies participation, and development of different diagnoses, among others.
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Health policies and initiatives guide and direct advanced practice nurses in healthcare facilities by promoting regulatory compliance and workplace safety and delivering high-quality and safe patient care. Updated and well-written policies minimize practice variability, which leads to patient harm due to substandard care (Irving, 2014). They also reduce significant sources of human oversights or errors, such as reliance on memory. Additionally, health policies ensure that all medical practitioners in any health care setting comply with accreditation requirements such as CMS Conditions of Participation, regulations, and statutes.
Conclusion
Without proper guidance and direction form health policies and initiatives, medical personal such as advanced practice nurses may act fail to adhere to professional practices and cause negative consequences. Updating these policies is also essential to ensure that actions are consistent with practices recognized in the industry.
References
Collins-Bride, G. M. (2017). Clinical guidelines for advanced practice nursing: An interprofessional approach . Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
DeNisco, S., & Barker, A. M. (2016). Advanced practice nursing: Essential knowledge of the profession . Burlington, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Irving, A. V. (2014). Policies and Procedures for Healthcare Organizations: A Risk Management Perspective. Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare . https://www.psqh.com/analysis/policies-and-procedures-for-healthcare-organizations-a-risk-management-perspective/
Nurse Journal. (2020). Advanced Practice Nursing Fact Sheet. Nurse Journal; Social Community for Nurses Worldwide. https://nursejournal.org/advanced-practice/advanced-practice-nursing-fact-sheet/#:~:text=Advanced%20practice%20nurses%20serve%20many%20functions%20in%20a%20clinical%20setting.&text=Maintaining%20patient%20records%20and%20ensuring,counseling%20to%20patients%20and%20families
