Policy and Politics

Education in family planning, promoting rights to birth control is what nurse activist Margaret Sanger devoted her entire life to. Her devotion caused her to be jailed for distributing contraceptives to immigrant women from a clinic (Nickitas, Middaugh & Aries, 2014). Margaret Sanger was a nurse that worked in poverty stricken neighborhoods where she could provide education to woman regarding their rights to birth control, family planning and the importance of using contraceptives to decrease unwanted pregnancies. She had many people working with her to help spread the word for woman’s rights. The Arkansas Nurses association held a convention to help nurses gain awareness for education, gain knowledge on nursing theory and help promote professional growth and development (Arkansas Nurses Association, 2014).

The policy can change when it passes through legislation and decided by the elected officials enact it into law. Nurses can help improve the decision-making process by working outside the government by forming coalitions to influence the decision-making process (Nickitas, Middaugh & Aries, 2014). Nurses should advocate for patients by using their critical thinking skills when trying to influence within the organization.

A policy that need advocating for is nursing staff shortages. Patients seem to be more critical when being admitted to the hospital. With short staff it becomes difficult to care for patients the way they deserve. Patients have rights when it comes to receiving care, receiving quality effective care is important to positive health outcomes. Patient safety is compromised with every shift that is short staffed. Many errors occur when nurses must work shorthanded (Westrick, 2014).

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