What can every nurse do to influence policy that improves quality - Essay Example

? Influence of Policy making by Nurses Influence of Policy making by Nurses Nurses must undertake primary accountability for their professional and personal growth via efforts that enhance individual opportunities and education, which develop and exercise leadership skills. There is a need for a broad range of nursing entities to accelerate their devotion in affording leadership growth, mentoring platforms, and prospects for nurses. Further emphasis should be on assimilating leadership concept and comprehensive business procedures across the program and around the field of clinical practice. The governmental and public-private healthcare policy making bodies at each level must have nursing representatives on their administrative management teams, boards, and in major leadership positions. This paper will illustrate ways in which nurses can influence policymaking at every level of the system. Nursing is placed to have a noteworthy influence in the healthcare structure. The degree of that influence is utterly reliant on the inclination of the career to cultivate the role aptitudes and leadership crucial to make a transformation in guaranteeing quality, reachable healthcare in a transformed and transmuting health structure (ANA, 2008). Nevertheless, it is without doubt that it is up to the nursing profession, and its frontrunners to establish the professional and political maturity. This will enable the profession to parley the compound setting of interdisciplinary cooperation; the tenacity of contrasting support positions; placing of nurses at major legislative, organizational, and policymaking boards; also stating nursing's valid part in decisions and actions that advance efficient quality healthcare (Cherry & Trotter 2005). 1) To impact institutional policy, every nurse, regardless of setting or specialty, has expertise to contribute to the discussions focused on health care improvement. List Ways that nurses can contribute to the discussion focused on health care improvement. Nurses should demonstrate capabilities as the main players in the field of healthcare policymaking. Nurses must view policy as a thing they are obligated to fashion rather than something they have no control over. In inter-disciplinary healthcare environs, actual partnership necessitates assumption of complete responsibility. Nurses can influence institutional policy by coordinating, and leading endeavors that identify problems related to care improvement, waste, tracking quality enhancement, and achieving established goals. Another way that nurses can contribute in policymaking is by devising collaborative strategies that are indispensable to good practice (ANA, 2008). The modern healthcare environment is progressively interdependent hence; a new type of partnership-centered leadership is essential to reduce errors, improve patient outcomes, and influence staff involvement and satisfaction. By refining their inborn adaptive capacity to advance their ability to incorporate the continually changing healthcare dynamic, nurses can successfully engage others in transforming care. It is up to nurses to break historic perceptions, biases, gender references and inaccurate perceptions of nurses as those who perform the instructions of others (Cohen et al., 2003). 2) To impact local or community policies: List ways that nurses can contribute to the discussion focused on health care improvement There is a need for capable and strong leadership if the goal for transmuting healthcare is to be achieved. The nursing profession should have leaders at each level of the organization. Nurses should accept major leadership positions in politics, organizations, practice, and most importantly in policymaking. Nurses must display leadership capability, and high-level concerted skills as provisions for transformation and execution of health modification demand. These skills should display at each level and in every manner that influence the advancing potential for modern premium patient care. To influence local or community policies nurses must participate in decision making by developing and evaluating the outflows models that affect supply of health care at the community level (IOM, 2010). Nurses are the heart and soul of hospitals, and since they spend more time at the patient bedside, they should provide effective means of pooling funds to improve research on standards of health-care and solutions to patient-care glitches. Nurses are best suit in creating and adopting advanced patient-focused care models. Nurses can bring such vital information on the table for discussion and evaluation. Lastly, nurses act as a safety net for patients since they are appropriately put to function at the front lines of improving quality healthcare (Fawcett and Russell 2001). 3) To impact state policy: List ways that nurses can contribute to the discussion focused on health care improvement Nurses must perceive themselves as indispensible policy leaders who are responsible for recognizing opportunities and roles for policy leadership by engaging in policy decisions at regional levels. At regional levels, nurses must establish the practice and political partnerships needed to influence policy formulation and political action (ANA 2008). Nurses can advocate for advances in innovation in therapeutic and health plans, and information technology by attending State forums. Nurses draw up business plans with entrepreneurial opportunities to initiate programs and business directed to improving health and healthcare. Only nurses can device such ideas since they are the eyes and ears of hospitals, and are in a good place to sway a patient’s outcomes and experiences (Hall & Moss, 2000). 4) To impact national policy: List ways that nurses can contribute to the discussion focused on health care improvement. To influence national policy nurses necessitates the capability to involve stakeholders, and to build effective relationships with them to shape the indispensable critical mass of unions adequate to sustain crucial change. Nurses, by working with significant institutional, professional, organizational partnerships, in shared coalitions or via governance bodies and membership on board, are a solid predictor of effective alliances that enhance policy. Nurses can use these channels to advocate for budget allocations to indorse healthcare for all, and sponsoring all health professions with prominence on underserved regions. Nurses enacting such leadership roles are indispensable in advancing a profound, effective, and maintainable quality health structure (ANA, 2008). Finally, nurses need to play a fundamental role in systems of patient safety and quality. Nurses must view themselves as crucial purveyors, demonstrating the specialized mission focused to improving the quality, value, and safety of patient-focused healthcare for persons, families, and societies. Functioning with other specialties provide nurses with exceptional prospect to speak with a cohesive voice in instituting nursing policy, which can improve dramatic accomplishments in safety and quality, and sturdily inform expansive health policy that enhances the safety and quality plan of health provision for the community (Hofler, 2006). . References American Nurses Association. (2003). Nursing’s social policy statement. (2nd Ed.). Washington, DC: American Nurses Publishing. Cherry, B., & Trotter, B, V. (2005). Health policy and politics: Get involved!. In B. Cherry & Jacobs,S. (Eds.) Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends & management (pp.211-233). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Inc. Cohen, S.S., Leavitt, J.K., Leonhard , M.A, & Mason, D.J. (2003). Political analysis and Strategy. In D. Mason & J. K. Leavitt (Eds.), Policy and politics in nursing and health care (3rd ed.). (pp. 139-159). Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders Company Fawcett, J. & Russell, G. (2001). A conceptual model of nursing and health policy. Chatham, N.J: Chatham House. Hall, I. & Moss, P. (2000). Nursing and the legislative process: a successful outcome. Baltimore, MD: Health Professions Press, Inc. Hofler, L.D. (2006). Learning from the best: The benefits of a structured health policy fellowship in developing nursing health policy leaders. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Institute of Medicine. (2010)The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Washington, DC: American Nurses Publishing. Read More