Becoming Influential - Essay Example

Second, this could mean lower-cost and in-time PHC delivery to a broader population. Third, it will remove or at least lessen the legal barriers, caused by different state laws that hinder APNs to provide PHC (Hansen-Turton et al., 2010; Safriet, 2011). Lastly, it will give the nursing profession the due recognition that has long been denied of it. As such, I hope; my message will accomplish three things: First, it will convince our policy makers address the legal barrier that only they can resolve in order to make the Affordable Care Act truly realizable.

Second, it will allay lingering fears among the general public regarding APNs’ competence and reliability as PHC providers. Lastly, it will challenge APNs to continue improving and loving their profession in order to achieve the respect and recognition they long sought for. Deciding on How to Share My Message Being an ordinary nurse, I don’t think that sending a personal letter to President Obama or anyone in the US Congress will be influential. I believe that using the social media will be the best thing I can do to make my message most influential.

I know that I am not the only one who believes that APNs should be given a wider role in the provision of PHC. Other APNs share the same belief as demonstrated by the lobbying of the American Nurses Association (Appleby, 2013). However, if lobbying for this will involve only the nursing profession, this may be perceived as self-serving. It is therefore important to get involved in this fight those who are at the receiving end of the USHCS. The time for this is right, as the recent study by the Association of American Medical Colleges' Center for Workforce Studies reveals that more people, especially the younger ones (aged 18-34 years old), prefer nurse practitioners or physician assistant (Kliff, 2013).

Hence, I will appeal to these people to help APNs convince the President and the Congress to once and for all settle this legal barrier for APNs to become PHC providers. I know that the medical community, especially those who are used to the traditional physician-nurse hierarchy will speak against the competence of APNs to do this job. Yet more than this, I still believe that reason supported by empirical evidence will prove that APN-delivered care are actually at par with physician-delivered care in terms of safety and quality (O’Grady, 2008).

My Message From this assignment I learned three sad realities. First, transforming the USHCS is truly difficult, because it is marred with vested interests from various stakeholders. Second, commitment and competence of APNs are not enough to ensure the provision of quality healthcare to a broader public due to legal barriers. Lastly, the important role the APNs consistently play in the delivery of safe and quality healthcare remains undervalued and unrecognized within and outside the medical community until today.

This is despite the many empirical evidences affirming the equal competence and reliability of APNs and despite their heightened qualifications, training, and experiences. These happen because nurses tend not to get involved