Policy Leadership in Advanced Nursing Practice
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2021) identifies policy competence as among the most critical skills an advanced practice nurse can utilize to drive better health care outcomes and systemic change. First, policy competence enables nurses to understand the complex legislative and regulatory frameworks that directly impact patient care. Understanding how policies are created, implemented, and analyzed better positions the advanced practice nurse to support evidence-based practices that help address health disparities and improve patient services (Chiu et al., 2021): Policy Leadership in Advanced Nursing Practice.
Second, policy competency enables healthcare professionals to become more active change agents. Accordingly, through deep knowledge of the policymaking process, nurses are able to engage with various active skills on the part of legislators, advanced witness testimony, and targeted development with interveners to address population needs with regard to their health (Chhetri & Zacarias, 2021). This proactive approach pushes the realm from where nursing is not just placed within the clinical role anymore into a broader leadership position-influencing healthcare delivery at institutional and grassroots through national levels.
Effective monitoring of the health policy market offers vigilant professions many advantages. These include, among others, the ability to anticipate and get ready for emerging healthcare trends and regulatory changes. In this respect, through frequent monitoring of policy discussions, healthcare leaders are in a position to take the initiative in adapting their practice and organizational strategies in accordance with emerging healthcare priorities.
Another benefit is identifying potential policy gaps and coming up with innovative solutions. Through observation, advanced practice nurses can realize areas where current policies may fail in comprehensive patient care and thus contribute to responsiveness in healthcare systems.
Three major things that I learned in this course include health policy development, an intricate process; the importance of advanced practice nurses in policy advocacy; and the importance of grasping the impact of policy on healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. These insights have reshaped my understanding of healthcare beyond the traditional clinical boundaries.
As a DNP graduate, I will apply this course learning by actively engaging in policy discussions, maintaining awareness of current legislation affecting healthcare, and seeking opportunities to participate in policy development. I will use my clinical experience to insert evidence-based input into policy discussions, work in interdisciplinary teams, and advocate for policies that promote health equity and improved patient care. That way, my practice would be transformed from a solely clinical intervention approach to a more comprehensive systemic approach to the improvement of healthcare.
References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education (pp. 1–82). American Association of Colleges of Nursing. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf
Chhetri, D., & Zacarias, F. (2021). Advocacy for evidence-based policy-making in public health: Experiences and the way forward. Journal of Health Management, 23(1), 85–94.
Chiu, P., Cummings, G. G., Thorne, S., & Makaroff, K. S. (2021). Policy advocacy and nursing organizations: A scoping review. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 22(4), 276–296. https://doi.org/10.1177/15271544211050611
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Question 
The focus of this assignment is to facilitate your ability to summarize and apply the knowledge gained from this course.
The initial posting is due Wednesday at 24:00 (midnight) Eastern Time.
You can find the general Discussion Board Guidelines by clicking this link. These guidelines apply to all Discussion Board assignments in this course. Please note that the last posting for this DB is due earlier than normal due to the course end date and differs from the general Discussion Board guidelines.
Policy Leadership in Advanced Nursing Practice
Discussion Board Items:
- Describe two ways that policy competence can help advanced practice nurses and other health professionals improve health in individuals and populations.
- Effectively observing the health policy market and policymaking process provides a number of benefits to attentive professionals. Describe two benefits of this effective observation.
- What are three major points you learned in this course?
- How will you apply information learned in this course to change your practice as a DNP graduate?
Textbook: