Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation

A Healthcare Program within My Practice

Certainly, one of the healthcare programs within our practice is a bundled post-discharge care service intended to reduce hospital readmission rates. This program will bridge the gaps in continuity of care post-discharge and is expected to cost around $500,000 annually for staffing, remote monitoring technology, and educational materials. Projected outcomes are a reduction of 20% in hospital readmission rates within the first year and an improvement in patient satisfaction scores (Pugh et al., 2021). Programs like this align with the framework for evidence-based practice and policy described in Milstead’s Health Policy and Politics: A Nurse’s Guide: Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation.

The Target Population

The target population includes patients with chronic illnesses such as heart failure, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, who have high complex care needs and are most susceptible to increased readmission in hospitals. Further, this population should also exhibit several barriers, which include low literacy levels about health and limited resources to access care services. According to Murray et al. (2021), there is a considerable need to incorporate these social determinants into the program’s success.

The Role of the Nurse in the Program Design

Nurses are indispensable during the design process since their ideas are usually couched in their everyday contact with patients. Such suggestions include culturally sensitive educational materials that would address the needs of a diverse patient populace, thus increasing the program’s accessibility and acceptability (Flaubert, 2021). Their suggestions provide slick follow-up scheduling that limits patient stress and enhances compliance. This shows the importance of frontline staff input in program design.

My Role in Advocacy and the Program Design

As an advocate, I ensure that the program represents patients in terms of their needs and values. I attend stakeholder meetings where I give data and information from patients to help make decisions. For instance, I supported the introduction of a 24/7 nurse hotline service that, with time, has become helpful for patients needing urgent consultations. I further helped design a mobile health application for the management of chronic conditions that helps patients better track their condition.

Role of the Nurse in Program Implementation

In implementation, nurses go from being planners to active program agents. For example, the nurses do virtual consultations to monitor the progress of the patients and give the team immediate feedback so that timely intervention can be carried out. Such a hands-on role significantly differs from the design phase, which is more strategic and policy-forming. In addition, Haleem et al. (2021) highlight that these feedback loops are necessary for healthcare and even more so when the approach or program is patient-centered.

Healthcare Team Members Needed Most in Program Implementation

Effective implementation requires a multidisciplinary team. Notably, physicians provide clinical oversight, while nurses are the direct interface with the patients, educating and caring for them. Other non-clinical issues, such as transportation or financial problems, are handled by case managers and social workers.

IT professionals make sure technology, including electronic health records and remote monitoring systems, functions properly (Samardzic et al., 2020). No one component could be replaced concerning comprehensive patient service and smooth program implementation.

In summary, nurses are the linchpin for healthcare programs, serving as a link between patient care and systemic improvement. Since nurses operate in dual roles—as designers and implementers—they ensure that programs are practical and, at the same time, effective. This collaboration with other professionals elevates overall care; hence, nurse involvement is critical at every stage of program development.

References

Flaubert, J. (2021). The role of nurses in improving health care access and quality. In www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573910/

Haleem, A., Javaid, M., Singh, R. P., & Suman, R. (2021). Telemedicine for healthcare: Capabilities, features, barriers, and applications. Sensors International, 2(2), 100–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sintl.2021.100117

Murray, F., Allen, M., Clark, C. M., Daly, C. J., & Jacobs, D. M. (2021). Socio-demographic and -economic factors associated with 30-day readmission for conditions targeted by the hospital readmissions reduction program: a population-based study. BMC Public Health, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11987-z

Pugh, J., Penney, L. S., Noël, P. H., Neller, S., Mader, M., Finley, E. P., Lanham, H. J., & Leykum, L. (2021). Evidence-based processes to prevent readmissions: More is better, a ten-site observational study. BioMed Central Health Services Research, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06193-x

Samardzic, M., Doekhie, K. D., & Wijngaarden, J. D. H. (2020). Interventions to improve team effectiveness within health care: A systematic review of the past decade. Human Resources for Health, 18(2), 1–42. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-019-0411-3

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Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation

As their names imply, the honeyguide bird and the honey badger both share an affinity for honey. Honeyguide birds specialize in finding beehives but struggle to access the honey within. Honey badgers are well-equipped to raid beehives but cannot always find them.

However, these two honey-loving species have learned to collaborate on an effective means to meet their objectives. The honeyguide bird guides honey badgers to newly discovered hives. Once the honey badger has ransacked the hive, the honey guide bird safely enters to enjoy the leftover honey.

Much like honeyguide birds and honey badgers, nurses and health professionals from other specialty areas can—and should—collaborate to design effective programs. Nurses bring specialties to the table that make them natural partners to professionals with different specialties. When nurses take the requisite leadership in becoming involved throughout the healthcare system, these partnerships can better design and deliver highly effective programs that meet objectives.

In this Assignment, you will practice this type of leadership by advocating for a healthcare program. Equally as important, you will advocate for a collaborative role of the nurse in the design and implementation of this program. To do this, assume you are preparing to be interviewed by a professional organization/publication regarding your thoughts on the role of the nurse in the design and implementation of new healthcare programs.

Resources

• Short, N. M. (2022). Milstead’s health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide(7th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
  • Chapter 4, “Policy Analysis and Design” (pp. 77–93)
  • Chapter 9, “The Influence of Patient Health Data on Health Policy” (pp. 197–217)
  • Chapter 10, “Financing Health Care” (pp. 247–257 only)
• American Nurses Association (ANA). (n.d.). AdvocacyLinks to an external site.. Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/advocacy/
• govLinks to an external site.. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.congress.gov/
• Klein, K. J., & Sorra, J. S. (1996). The challenge of innovation implementationLinks to an external site.. Academy of Management Review, 21(4), 1055–1080.
• Office of Policy, Performance, and Evaluation. (2019). The CDC policy processLinks to an external site.. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/policy/polaris/policyprocess/index.html
• Sacristán, J., & Dilla, T. D. (2015). No big data without small data: Learning health care systems begin and end with the individual patientLinks to an external site.. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 21(6), 1014–1017.
• Tummers, L., & Bekkers, V. (2014). Policy implementation, street level bureaucracy, and the importance of discretionLinks to an external site.. Public Management Review, 16(4), 527–547.
  

  Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation

Required Media

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.

WEEKLY RESOURCES

To Prepare:

• Review the Resources and reflect on your thinking regarding the role of the nurse in the design and implementation of new healthcare programs.
• Select a healthcare program within your practice and consider the design and implementation of this program.
• Reflect on advocacy efforts and the role of the nurse in relation to healthcare program design and implementation.

The Assignment: (2–4 pages)

In a 2- to 4-page paper, create an interview transcript of your responses to the following interview questions:

• Tell us about a healthcare program, within your practice. What are the costs and projected outcomes of this program?
• Who is your target population?
• What is the role of the nurse in providing input for the design of this healthcare program? Can you provide examples?
• What is your role as an advocate for your target population for this healthcare program? Do you have input into design decisions? How else do you impact design?
• What is the role of the nurse in healthcare program implementation? How does this role vary between design and implementation of healthcare programs? Can you provide examples?
• Who are the members of a healthcare team that you believe are most needed to implement a program? Can you explain why?

By Day 7 of Week 8

Submit your interview transcript.

Submission Information

Before submitting your final assignment, you can check your draft for authenticity. To check your draft, access the Turnitin Drafts from the Start Here area.

1. To submit your completed assignment, save your Assignment as WK8Assgn+LastName+Firstinitial
2. Then, click on Start Assignment near the top of the page.
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