Response – The Role of Professional Nurses in Policy Evaluation
Hello,
This is a very informative post. Your comprehensive post on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation, particularly RNs and APRNs, offers valuable insights into the intersection of nursing and healthcare policy. Your emphasis on the nursing process and its relevance to policy evaluation is valuable. This sequential approach, involving assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation, equips nurses with the skills to critically evaluate policies’ impact on patient care and healthcare systems (Boaz & Nutley, 2023). Our assignment writing help is at affordable prices to students of all academic levels and disciplines.
Your discussion of communication skills and the importance of building relationships with policymakers and legislators resonates with the evolving role of nurses in shaping healthcare policies. Effective communication and collaboration are essential for bridging the gap between the healthcare field and the policy-making arena, ultimately leading to better policies that serve the community’s needs (Boaz & Nutley, 2023). Subsequently, your points about the challenges nurses face when engaging in policy and politics are well-founded. Limited formal education in healthcare policy within nursing programs, time constraints, and financial limitations are significant barriers. It’s crucial to recognize these obstacles while advocating for integrating policy-related education within nursing curricula and addressing practical challenges.
Furthermore, the emphasis on the collective influence of nurses as a large cohort of healthcare professionals in the United States is noteworthy. Nurses can leverage their numbers to exert political influence and drive transformative changes in the healthcare system (Kern et al., 2019). Their unique perspective, derived from direct patient care experiences, makes them valuable advocates for policies prioritizing patient well-being and effective healthcare delivery.
In addition to your insights, it’s worth highlighting the importance of research in policy evaluation. Nurses can engage in or support research that provides data and evidence to inform policy decisions (Kern et al., 2019). By combining their clinical expertise with research findings, nurses can become even more influential in shaping effective healthcare policies.
References
Boaz, A., & Nutley, S. (2023). Evidence-informed policy and practice. In Public Management and Governance (pp. 368-382). Routledge.
Kern, F., Rogge, K. S., & Howlett, M. (2019). Policy mixes for sustainability transitions: New approaches and insights through bridging innovation and policy studies. Research Policy, 48(10), 103832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2019.103832
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Response – The Role of Professional Nurses in Policy Evaluation
Registered nurses (RNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) have proficient evaluative abilities that they adeptly use in clinical settings. Both registered nurses (RNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) play a crucial role in the formulation and evaluation of public policies, particularly those pertaining to the healthcare sector. These capabilities may also be used to critically evaluate a policy and provide a choice that will have a beneficial impact on the community. Individuals are given the freedom to express personal judgment in relation to their profession, together with the power to evaluate regulations and determine their effectiveness in advancing the well-being of both the public and the healthcare industry.
RNs and APRNs have a high level of proficiency in communication, which enables them to successfully express their perspectives about a policy. In the domain of healthcare, specifically within the discipline of nursing, the term “evaluation” is often used. One of the first concepts that a nurse learns is the nursing process, which has four sequential stages: assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. The assessment of programs or policies exhibits similarities since it employs a comparable approach to determine the effectiveness of a certain program or policy (Milstead & Short, 2019). Based on the findings of Kostas-Polston et al. (2015), when the relationship between the nurse advocate and the political leader strengthens, the nurse is seen as a reliable provider of unbiased information and evaluation.
In the article “10 Strategies for Nurses’ Engagement in Policy,” it is said that registered nurses in the year 2023 will have certain characteristics. There are committees within state and national nursing organizations that are in charge of lobbying lawmakers and influencing legislation that has an effect on the management of healthcare. Engaging with professional organizations such as the American Nurses Association and the American Academy of Nursing is highly recommended. Registered nurses often engage in legislative sessions conducted by their corresponding local, state, and federal governments in order to enhance their comprehension of the system’s functioning and the variables influencing decision-making processes.
However, when nurses have a better understanding of the process, they are better able to influence the policies that affect them. Because of this, they are able to exert their influence on policies in a way that is comprehensible to both politicians and lobbyists. Building ties with politicians who work on healthcare legislation is a priority for nurses. Take part in activities conducted by national boards for instance, one institution that provides financing for patient-centered clinical effectiveness research is called the Patient-Centered Research Institute. By Building a following on social media as a nurse using the platform of your choice and sharing the knowledge you’ve learned to educate the public about the procedure and the policies that are in place (“10 ways nurses can get involved in policy,” 2023).
Nurses have the responsibility of upholding their ethical and professional duties by actively engaging in legislative processes that influence the well-being of the patients entrusted to their care. Regrettably, throughout history, nurses have had less influence on legislative matters pertaining to the provision of healthcare. There are other justifications that explain the constrained involvement of nurses in political and policy deliberations. There exist several contributing causes to this phenomenon, including a lack of knowledge and necessary abilities, with limited opportunities for active engagement.
In the study titled “Factors Influencing Nurses’ Participation in the Health Policy-making Process: A Systematic Review” (n.d.), it is highlighted that an additional obstacle lies in the insufficient inclusion of healthcare policy within formal nursing education. Another impediment that restricts persons in the nursing profession from participating in political activities is the limitation imposed by scarce time and financial resources. Research results have also shown that registered nurses face a lack of adequate support in their efforts to provide the necessary data that may significantly influence healthcare policy. However, considering the substantial number of registered nurses in the United States, which amounts to 4.2 million individuals, nurses constitute the biggest cohort of healthcare professionals in the country.
Consequently, by leveraging their collective influence, nurses possess the potential to exert significant political force and instigate transformative changes within the nation’s healthcare system (Smiley et al., 2020).