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In an age of credentialism, technology, and scientific advancements, how does an RN or APRN follow in the footsteps of Nightingale to advocate for patients with policy-making involvement? In the nineteenth century, workhouse infirmaries were established in England to house the aged, infirm, and the occasional lunatic was allowed to stay for no longer than a fortnight (Rivett, 2021). Nursing care in workhouses was provided by untrained or “pauper” nurses, who were workhouse inmates themselves. Nightingale believed in the institution of professional nursing services, and the nursing services provided in the workhouses did not align with her vision or drive. Nightingale teamed up with philanthropist William Rathbone in a project that would provide a workhouse in Liverpool with a trained nursing staff and a nursing leader, Agnes Jones (McDonald, 2001). Nightingale and Rathbone believed that if care provided in workhouses by trained nursing professionals yielded improved patient outcomes, authorities would be forced to extend the practice standard to all workhouses. Unfortunately, immediate reform did not result from Nightingale and Rathbone’s project- .NURS 6050 Discussion 2 The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy-Making SAMPLE Consequentially, legislation associated with workhouses would not take place until healthcare costs of communicable diseases began to drastically have a negative impact on England’s economy (McDonald, 2001). Imagine the impact Nightingale could have on modern healthcare reform with the support of a board of nursing, professional nursing organizations, and the use of social media.
The nursing profession in itself is a significant health care resource, and we make up more than 50% of the national health workforce in many countries (Jokiniemi et al., 2020). Professional nursing organizations like the American Nurse Association (ANA) and the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) offers RN’s and APRN’s opportunities to be involved in policy-making via fellowships, health care policy forums and conferences. APRN’s and APRN students can get involved in their local chapter of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) to become involved and stay up to date on APRN practice authority and prescriptive authority legislation: NURS 6050 Discussion 2 The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy-Making SAMPLE. RN’s and APRN’s can also become involved in their states board of nursing to influence policy-making as well. The downside of these opportunities is unfortunately time and money. Fellowships and BON applications involve collecting references, nominations, personal statements, and of course there are always fees, not to mention the time you are committing if selected. Becoming a member of a professional nursing organization has several benefits; however, the cost can be a deterrent. Annual ANA memberships can range from $200.00 to over $500.00, and despite the scholarly benefits, I would like more bang for my buck. I would rather spend $1500.00 for an annual ANA membership with two guaranteed conferences,… I would take one out of town conference.
Circling back to the influence nurses can have on policy-making by sheer numbers alone, the social media platform has the reach to command policy change if used correctly. President Trump can attest to the power of the Twitter; however, one study researched the power of the Twitter to engage nursing students in health care policy. According to the American Association of Colleges if Nursing (AACN) and Gazza (2019), baccalaureate-prepared nurses have a professional responsibility to engage in the political process of creating and influencing health care policy. Nurses are needed to serve on boards where they can improve health care practices and outcomes, but nurse educators face the challenge of engaging students in health care policy education when students are otherwise engaged in “more exciting” undergraduate courses like anatomy and physiology or pharmacology. Thus, Gazza (2019) decided to take an innovative step to engage student in health care policy education by using a teaching medium the students are overly familiar with, the Twitter. In this study, students were required to create a Twitter account and follow the instructor. Although students could contribute tweets of their own, it was not a graded assignment- NURS 6050 Discussion 2 The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy-Making SAMPLE. Over the seven week course, the instructor would post and reports relevant tweets related to weekly course material. The instructor would also follow stakeholders and political members and parties to augment course material. The major two themes that emerged from the study were (1) staying up to date and (2) opening my eyes (Gazza, 2019). Students found that the use of social media provided ease of access to real time health care policy agendas, debates, and pending legislation (Gazza, 2019). Student also reported feeling more involved and like actual participants in health policy via disseminations of re-tweets.
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The ANA advocates for nursing have a seat at the table for all healthcare discussions. We have the numbers, but our contributions in the policy-making arena do not reflect our presence. We have learned thus far in the course that political funding from interest group, stakeholders, and professional organizations carries a lot of weight in the policy-making arena. I believe nursing professional organizations and state board of nursing leaders need action plans for bringing in more members. Leadership in these nursing organizations needs to brainstorm on how to improve nurse engagement and increases memberships for professional nursing organizations.
NURS 6050 Discussion 2 The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy-Making SAMPLE References
American Academy of Nursing. Fellowships. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
https://www.aannet.org/about/fellows
Gazza, E. A. (2019). Using Twitter to Engage Online RN-to-BSN Students in Health Care Policy. Journal of
Nursing Education, 58(2), 107–109. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.3928/01484834-20190122-08
Jokiniemi, K., Suutarla, A., Meretoja, R., Kotila, J., Axelin, A., Flinkman, M., Heikkinen, K., & Fagerström,
L. (2020). Evidence‐informed policymaking: Modelling nurses’ career pathway from registered
nurse to advanced practice nurse. International Journal of Nursing Practice (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), 26(1), N.PAG. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1111/ijn.12777
McDonald, L. (2001). Florence Nightingale and the early origins of evidence-based nursing. Evidence-
Based Nursing, 4(3), 68–69. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1136/ebn.4.3.68
Rivett, Geoffrey. “The Poor Law Infirmaries”. NHS History. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/health-and-social-care-explained/the-history-of-the-nhs
NURS 6050 Discussion 2 The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy-Making SAMPLE RESPONSES
Hello P,
This is insightful. RNs, and APRNs are always given opportunities to participate in decision-making. For most healthcare institutions, the contribution of registered nurses and advanced registered nurses is significant given the knowledge and experiences they possess in the provision of different healthcare services (Gazza, 2019). Nurses are needed to serve on boards where they can improve health care practices and outcomes. Both RNs and APRNs have different platforms where they can express their ideas and participate in the policy-making processes (Moore et al., 2020). One of these platforms is the professional nursing organization, where they can contribute significantly to improving the healthcare process. Research and education are some other platforms where nurses can participate to ensure improvement in different healthcare processes. Unlike RN nurses, APRN has advanced roles that make them considered in the decision-making processes (Kooienga & Wilkinson, 2017). First, they have advanced knowledge and experiences, which allow them to participate as nurse advocates and in administrative positions. The ANA advocates for nursing have a seat at the table for all healthcare discussions.
References
Gazza, E. A. (2019). Using Twitter to Engage Online RN-to-BSN Students in Health Care Policy. Journal of Nursing Education, 58(2), 107–109. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.3928/01484834-20190122-08
Kooienga, S., & Wilkinson, J. (2017, January). RN prescribing: an expanded role for nursing. In Nursing forum (Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 3-11). https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12159
Moore, A., Parks, K., & Mello, I. (2020). Transitioning from RN to APRN. Nursing made Incredibly Easy, 18(2), 51-54. https://journals.lww.com/nursingmadeincrediblyeasy/Citation/2020/03000/Transitioning_from_RN_to_APRN.9.aspx
