Benefits And Barriers in Health Policy Making Assignment Paper

Role of RNs and APRNs in Policy Making

Nurses have relentlessly impacted the healthcare sector in diverse ways, including policy-making and implementation through their professional organizations and individual views on healthcare issues. Understanding their input in the policy process as a concept, RNs and APRNs plays an integral role in policy making in the health industry, with their influence on the process impacting overall patient outcomes and workplace dynamics. Recognized as critical stakeholders in the health industry, nurses’ participation in policy-making can be the difference between effective care delivery and a positive patient experience. This paper discusses opportunities for nurses in policy-making, challenges they encounter, possible countermeasures, and best ways to educate them on the existence of opportunities to participate in the policy-making exercise. Benefits And Barriers in Health Policy Making Assignment Paper

Two Opportunities for RNs and APRNs to Actively Participate in Policy Making

Nursing organizations are professional bodies representing nurses, offering them one voice in influencing the nursing practice, knowledge development, creating and influencing change, and gaining personal growth in their career. One opportunity for nurses to participate in policy making is through joining or becoming a member of a nursing professional organization such American Nursing Association (ANA) (Milstead, & Short, 2019). The professional associations do not give nurses a voice to give their views and feedback on care delivery and experience when they interact with patients, but it trains them on how to influence and participate in the policy-making process. Secondly, their position and number in the healthcare setting give them an upper hand to influence aspects such as resource allocation and support care delivery compared to patient needs. They are uniquely positioned to be critical players in policy formulation and decision-making.

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Challenges Possessed By the Opportunity Identified & How to Overcome Them

While policy-making sounds like a straightforward contribution by nurses, the process is faced with diverse challenges. One challenge is overcrowding their work schedule, denying them the chance and time to participate in forums to give their views and experience the care delivery process. According to Heuel et al., (2022), the shortage in nurses has negatively impacted the work schedule, with available nurses working for a longer time and missing opportunities to give their views in policy-making exercises. Secondly, there has been a traditional perception of nurses as influencers of patient care and their experience views, and contention should be limited to serving patients (Demir et al., 2022). This limitation for nurses’ role hinders their acceptance as equal players in the healthcare industry, derailing their input in policy-making.

Addressing the challenges increases nurses’ advocacy role in developing policies that would improve the overall nursing and healthcare practice. One approach is through the provision of a flexible work schedule. This would give nurses time to deliver patient care and participate in policy influencing programs such as board meetings and group work, among others. Additionally, healthcare organizations should engage in nurse workforce training through the nurse association nurse representatives to ensure they understand their impact and role in policy making. Nurse training empowers them to actively participate in giving feedback and recommendations based on their experiences in addressing patient needs. Benefits And Barriers in Health Policy Making Assignment Paper

Strategies for Advocacy and Opportunities

RNs and APRNs remain critical stakeholders in the healthcare industry. Their active participation is key to effective change management regarding participation in the policy-making process (Barzegar Safari et al., 2020). Different approaches can be adopted to advocate and communicate the existence of nurses as agents of policy formulation. One is increasing the number and time RNs and APRNs participate in the change process. As part of the change management team, nurses actively advocate for better healthcare delivery, improve the work environment and focus on addressing patient needs. This would put nurses in the policy-making process, motivating them to remain active. Another strategy that would effectively communicate the RNs and APRNs’ opportunity in policy making is by inducting them into healthcare organizations’ training and seminars. By being part of the educational seminars, nurses can provide information regarding their experience in care delivery hence providing critical information to policy makers. Members from regional, national and local policy formulation can participate to highlight nurses’ opportunities getting them active in the policy process. Benefits And Barriers in Health Policy Making Assignment Paper

References

Barzegar Safari, M., Bahadori, M., & Alimohammadzadeh, K. (2020). The related factors of nurses’ participation and perceived benefits and barriers in health policy making. The Journal of Nursing Research, 28(4), 1-8. doi: 10.1097/jnr.0000000000000385

Demir, Oznur Ispir, PhD,R.N., B.S.N., & Duygulu, Sergul, PhD,R.N., B.S.N. (2022). Relationship between nurses’ perception of transformational leadership practices and control over nursing practices. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 15(1), 465-475. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/relationship-between-nurses-perception/docview/2670468896/se-2

Heuel, L., Lübstorf, S., Otto, A., & Wollesen, B. (2022). Chronic stress, behavioral tendencies, and determinants of health behaviors in nurses: A mixed-methods approach. BMC Public Health, 22, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12993-5

Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Benefits And Barriers in Health Policy Making Assignment Paper