Discussion: The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluations

In the Module 4 Discussion, you considered how professional nurses can become involved in policy-making. A critical component of any policy design is evaluation of the results. How comfortable are you with the thought of becoming involved with such matters?

Some nurses may be hesitant to get involved with policy evaluation. The preference may be to focus on the care and well-being of their patients; some nurses may feel ill-equipped to enter the realm of policy and political activities. However, as you have examined previously, who better to advocate for patients and effective programs and polices than nurses? Already patient advocates in interactions with doctors and leadership, why not with government and regulatory agencies?

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In this Discussion, you will reflect on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation.

To Prepare: Discussion: The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluations Essay Paper

In the Module 4 Discussion, you considered how professional nurses can become involved in policy-making.
Review the Resources and reflect on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation.

By Day 3 of Week 9

Post an explanation of at least two opportunities that currently exist for RNs and APRNs to actively participate in policy review. Explain some of the challenges that these opportunities may present and describe how you might overcome these challenges. Finally, recommend two strategies you might make to better advocate for or communicate the existence of these opportunities. Be specific and provide examples.

By Day 6 of Week 9

Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days by suggesting additional opportunities or recommendations for overcoming the challenges described by your colleagues.

*Note: Throughout this program, your fellow students are referred to as colleagues.

Submission and Grading Information

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 9 Discussion Rubric

Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 6 of Week 9

To participate in this Discussion:

Week 9 Discussion

RE: Discussion – Week 9

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The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation

As advanced practice nurses, our goal is to increase patient outcomes. This can be attained in many different ways. Whether at the bedside, education, or politics. Within the political realm, you could participate in the design, implementation, or evaluation phase of policy-making. The evaluation process is often overlooked; however, it is an important element that has long-term effects on the target population (Laureate Education, 2018). One opportunity nurses have to participate in policy review is to run for elected office. Scaled back, one could become a board member at the workplace. Involvement with elected representatives and practice councils would be a great way to gain attention. Nurses’ have the ability to influence decisions and affairs related to health through political knowledge, effective communication, and collaboration with other members of the health team (Arabi, Rafii, Cheraghi, and Ghiyasvandian, 2014). Another opportunity to actively participate in policy review is through becoming a member of a national organization such as the American Nurses Association. ANA quotes “for decades, we have used the experience and expertise of our members to fight for that right, and for meaningful health care reform”.

Challenges these opportunities present would be how to become a board member within your organization and accessing resources to run for elected office. I would suggest becoming an advocate at the local, state, or federal level if you intend to run for office. Collaboration is key. You will need to make yourself and your agenda known in order to gain supporters. One could start by making phone calls to the already elected officials to see if any assistance is needed. Networking would also be needed in seeking to become a board member. Joining a national organization requires only an application and yearly dues.

Two strategies to better advocate or communicate these opportunities would be to take a political course or utilize your organizations’ library or education resource center. The more you educate yourself on the political process, the better advocate you become. The ability of a nurse to assess situations is immeasurable. Knowledge has always served our patients. There are individuals within your own workplace that can open doors for you. At the very least, they could point you in the right direction or give you contact information. Finally, let’s say you make contact with an elected official. It would be in your best interest to have those relevant facts and essential health care issues researched. With that information handy, you will be able to provide insight and solutions which would keep the interest of that political person in contact.

References

ANA. (n.d.). Health Policy. American Nurses Association. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/health-policy/

Arabi, A., Rafii, F., Cheraghi, M. A., & Ghiyasvandian, S. (2014). Nurses’ policy influence: A concept analysis. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research, 19(3), 315–322.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Program Policy and Evaluation [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

RE: Discussion – Week 9

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Corde, I enjoyed reading your post. I especially like the topic of healthcare board membership and the challenges associated with it for the nurse. All healthcare facilities operations are overseen and controlled by multiple boards that make policy for all aspects of the organization. These governing boards are where policies are developed and instituted (Milstead & Short, 2019). Nurses are grossly underrepresented on most healthcare boards, yet we are the largest group of healthcare providers (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2019). Studies have shown that nurses are estimated to hold only 6% of board positions in healthcare facilities while physicians sit in 20% of these positions (Hassmiller, 2012). In a survey in 2018, the 6% representation has not changed from the 2012 estimate (Prybil, Popa, Warshawsky, & Sundean, 2019).

Studies have shown that the highest performing healthcare organizations have the highest number of nurse representatives on their various boards, as opposed to mid and low performing organizations (Szekendi et al., 2015). There are many ways that we, as nurses, can improve our representation on healthcare boards. Professional nursing associations can partner with academic medical centers to provide educational paths for nurse advancement into leadership positions on boards (Prybil et al., 2019). This point emphasizes the importance of nurse membership in professional organizations (Milstead & Short, 2019). Nurses who are current members of boards can recruit and provide mentorship to qualified nurse candidates for open board positions, and this includes advisory boards. Advisory boards offer input into policy formation but do not have a direct vote in its adoption, and these are a useful tool in policy formation for the nurse. Finally, research on the benefits of nurse board membership should be encouraged by academic organizations and presented to executive board members to promote the appointment of nurses to governing boards (Prybil et al., 2019).

Nurses are the frontline healthcare providers. Why are we also not at the forefront of healthcare policy development? We should be using our positions to advocate for nursing and our patients. By influencing policy, we can advocate for the profession of nursing. This advocacy will, in turn, provide improved care and outcomes for our patients.

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2109). Nursing Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 22, 2020, from https://aacnnursing.org/News -information/Fact-sheets/Nursing-fact-sheet

Hassmiller, S. (2012). Taking the first steps to serving on a board. My American Nurse Today, 7(11). Retrieved April 22, 2020, from https://nursesonboardscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/American-Nurse-Today-Sue-Boards.pdf

Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6^th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Prybil, L. D., Popa, G. J., Warshawsky, N. E., & Sundean, L. J. (2019). Building the case for including nurse leaders on healthcare organization boards. Nursing Economic$, 37(4), 169-197.

Szendendi, M., Prybil, L., Cohen, D. L., Godfrey, B., Fardo, D. W., & Cerese, J. (2015). Governance practices and performance in US academic medical centers. American Journal of Medical Quality, 30(6), 520-525. doi: 10.1177/1062860614547260

Learning Resources
Required Readings

Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.).
Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

 Chapter 7, “Health Policy and Social Program Evaluation” (pp. 116–124 only)

Glasgow, R. E., Lichtenstein, E., & Marcus, A. C. (2003). Why don’t we see more translation of
health promotion research to practice? Rethinking the efficacy-to-effectiveness transition.
American Journal of Public Health, 93(8), 1261–1267.

Shiramizu, B., Shambaugh, V., Petrovich, H., Seto, T. B., Ho, T., Mokuau, N., & Hedges, J. R.
(2016). Leading by success: Impact of a clinical and translational research infrastructure program
to address health inequities. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 4(5), 983–991.

Williams, J. K., & Anderson, C. M. (2018). Omics research ethics considerations. Nursing
Outlook, 66(4), 386–393. doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2018.05.003

Document: Healthcare Program/Policy Evaluation Template (Word document)

Required Media
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Importance of Program Evaluation [Video file].
Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Peter Beilenson: Ethics and advocacy [Video file].
Baltimore, MD: Author.

The Role of Nurses in Policy Evaluation

The process of health policy development ends at the evaluation stage, which involves identifying the effectiveness and relevance of the policies. As Indicated in Stewart, et al., (2020), the ICN (International Council of Nurses) has actively championed the involvement of nurses in the policy development process, right from the beginning to the end. The participation of nurses in health policies helps to safeguard care quality through access to opportunities and required resources. This paper presents the opportunities that presently exist for APRNs/RNs to take part in the policy review actively.

Nurses have excellent communication skills that are useful in policy evaluation; thus increasing the influence nurses have on healthcare policies. Nurses are the closest to patients and gain most of their communication skills from the constant communication they have with their patients and their families (Patton, Zalon, &Ludwick, 2018). Besides, have they advanced skills in advocacy, a quality that puts them in the best position to take part in the process of policy review. Because APRNs/RNs have been known to advocate for their patients, their involvement in policy review will go a long way in removing the old policies that may have failed to conform to new regulations and rules and address new technologies. In amending the existing systems, the opinion of nurses should be taken as the current needs of patients.

These opportunities may, however, present some challenges in evaluating healthcare policies. The nurse may take advantage of their communication skills to review a healthcare policy in favor of their requests or opinions (Potter, et al., 2016). They can also use their advocacy skills to evaluate policies based on their interest or views. Therefore, I would recommend some set of standards that govern how nurses utilize their communication skills to impact healthcare policies. Besides the opinions of nurses when reviewing healthcare policies should first pass through a set committee to evaluate if they are the actual needs of the patients.

References

Patton, R. M., Zalon, M. L., &Ludwick, R. (Eds.). (2018). Nurses making policy: From bedside to boardroom. Springer Publishing Company.

Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Stockert, P., & Hall, A. (2016). Fundamentals of Nursing-E-Book. Elsevier health sciences.

Stewart, D., Kennedy, A., Schober, M., & Duignan, M. (2020). International Council of Nurses. In Advanced Practice Nursing Leadership: A Global Perspective (pp. 15-23). Springer, Cham.https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-20550-8_2

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Discussion: The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluations