NURS 6051 Discussion The Role of the RN APRN in Policy Evaluation

NURS 6051 Discussion The Role of the RN APRN in Policy Evaluation

Nurses’ influence on health policy remains a newer concept in nursing. There are many opportunities for nurses to become involved in policymaking and policy enhancement. S.1602 was established to increase the availability of school nurses in school districts, that 20% of students were granted reduced or free lunches. There were many supporting findings, such as in 2017, the National Association of School Nurses reported 39.3% of schools employed a full-time school nurse (Davidson, 2014). Furthermore, national data indicates that between 15-20% of school children have a chronic health condition. Since S.1602 has been introduced, if passed, it will be imperative to evaluate its success in measurable units.
Many times, nurses also have difficulty evaluating evidence-based health care policy. In this particular S.1602- Nurse Act Bill, nurses have the opportunity to show effectiveness by evidence. The success can be measured by the increase of nurses hired and the enhanced health of the students. Items that should be computed are students’ attendance, classroom time, academic achievement, and health (Congress, 2021). APRNS and nurses can assist with this by being active participants. Practice change occurs when there is an active engagement of nurse leaders (Davidson, 2014). Active engagement is challenging because there is limited time and resources for APRNs to research and practice. A way to increase participation is funding, and S.1602 has allotted a sufficient amount to hire nurses to practice. One additional step would be to fund nurses to gather the data and research the items that should be computed.
Although nurses form the most significant profession of the United States’ healthcare workforce, we lack involvement in health care making and enhancement. Every day is an opportunity to become involved. Search topics that are important to you and take your stance as a health care leader to ignite the implementation and evaluation of policies for the wellness of our communities.
References:

Congress. (2021). S.1602 Nurse Act. 117th Congress. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/1602/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22nurse%22%2C%22nurse%22%5D%7D&r=2&s=1

Davidson, J. (January 1, 2014). Evaluation of nurse engagement in evidence-based practice. AACN Advanced Critical Care, 25(1):43-55. https://doi.org/10.4037/NCI.0000000000000006

Glasgow, R.E., Lichtenstein, E. & Marcus, A.C. (2003). Why don’t we see more translation of health promotion research to practice? Rethinking the efficacy-to-effectiveness transition. American Journal of Public Health, 93(8), 1261-1267. https://eds-p-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=034020d0-0a73-4bfa-b6f1-ab78c877d060%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=10595993&db=bth

Discussion: The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation
In the Module 4 Discussion, you considered how professional nurses can become involved in policy-making. A critical component of any policy design is evaluation of the results. How comfortable are you with the thought of becoming involved with such matters?
Some nurses may be hesitant to get involved with policy evaluation. The preference may be to focus on the care and well-being of their patients; some nurses may feel ill-equipped to enter the realm of policy and political activities. However, as you have examined previously, who better to advocate for patients and effective programs and polices than nurses? Already patient advocates in interactions with doctors and leadership, why not with government and regulatory agencies?
In this Discussion, you will reflect on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation.
To Prepare:
• In the Module 4 Discussion, you considered how professional nurses can become involved in policy-making.
• Review the Resources and reflect on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation.
By Day 3 of Week 9
Post an explanation of at least two opportunities that currently exist for RNs and APRNs to actively participate in policy review. Explain some of the challenges that these opportunities may present and describe how you might overcome these challenges. Finally, recommend two strategies you might make to better advocate for or communicate the existence of these opportunities. Be specific and provide examples.

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By Day 6 of Week 9
Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days by suggesting additional opportunities or recommendations for overcoming the challenges described by your colleagues.
*Note: Throughout this program, your fellow students are referred to as colleagues.
RE: Discussion – Week 9 Initial Post
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The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation
Given that there are more nurses than any other profession in healthcare, it is only natural that nurses should play a larger role in creating healthcare policy.
At this crucial stage in nursing development, key organizations around the world are voicing the need for nurses to become more involved in leadership, advocacy, and policymaking. The importance of leadership and health policy training cannot be overemphasized (Turale, 2019). The need for nurses to receive more training about leadership, especially connected to in role for influencing health policy. It is important that nurses around the world need to take their place at decision-making tables and to be rightfully engaged in policy, health reform and advocacy, and nurse leaders need to provide them with access to well thought out policy training programs. The expected policy involvement that should be addressed is educational programs at the baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral levels of professional nursing, including advanced practice. The National League of Nursing and the American Nurses Association also expect nurses to address policy as part of their professional role.
Challenges that these opportunities may present includes, a lack of support, resources, and time for nurses/APRNs to participate in policy evaluation. Sometimes, nurses lack confidence and skills in policymaking and do not understand the difference or connection between policy and politics.
Engaging more nurses in health policy education and research is a way to foster skills in developing and proposing new healthcare policies and implementing them. Through policy research, nurses can gain skills to be accepted, respected, and better informed where it matters, to be recognized as health professional with policy and advocacy skills.

References
The contribution of nurses to health policy and advocacy requires leaders to provide training and mentorship. (2019, August 20). Wiley Online Library. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/inr.12550?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_jUiQWOAbXYcIHBJstvw5YpnAS_an1SeKoZGOVv_qV94-1635262352-0-gqNtZGzNAjujcnBszQi9
How do nurses influence health policy? (2021, June 14). Default. https://www.healthstream.com/resource/blog/how-do-nurses-influence-health-policy
Nurses’ policy influence: A concept analysis. (2014, May). PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4061635/

The Role of the RNs and APRNs in Policy Evaluation

Nurses are the backbones of the medical system.  The nursing profession is the largest in the U.S. healthcare industry.  For seventeen consecutive years, nursing ranked the most trusted job in Gallop’s ethic survey (For the 17th Year in a Row, Nurses Top Gallup’s Poll of Most Trusted Profession | AHA News, 2019). With so many responsibilities in nursing, it is an obligation that nurses actively participate in the policy review. By involving in policy review, nurses draft and analyze policies to be in a better position to advocate for their patients. This post will discuss the opportunities that currently exist for RNs and APRNs to actively participate in policymaking.

One opportunity for RNs and APRNs to actively participate in policymaking is policy draft.  Through policy drafts, nurses will be able to identify topics that will be critical for the next few years in healthcare. For example, Covid-19 pandemic really took a toll in U.S. healthcare industry.  As of date, over 700,000 people have died from Covid-19 infection in America (CDC, 2020).  Nurses played a significant role in the fight against Covid-19 and continue in the path to defeat this deadly virus.  Professional experiences of the nurses who worked with Covid-19 infected patients speak volumes about how exhausted the healthcare system is.  During the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccines, professional nurses were argued to engage in the vaccine advocacy campaign. Advocacy is a skill that nurses often use in their career; therefore, pairing that skill with a policy draft will enable nurses to organize the policy document with operational benefits properly. A well-drafted document will be easier to administer, maintain and enforce.  Likewise, Rasheed et al. (2020, P 447, Para 2) stress the importance that “due to their close interactions with individuals and communities across the healthcare system, nurses can offer greater direct insights concerning the effect of healthcare policies on individuals and communities.”   So, nurses need to be the drafters of the policies because it will reduce the overall amount of time an organization needs to spend on those activities, for example, vaccine advocacy programs. Appropriate content and specific knowledge and skills are essential in the policy document to avoid valuable time being wasted editing, discussing, and rewording statements that do not belong in the policy in the first place.

After completing a well-drafted policy document, nurses can participate in policy analysis and evaluate the current policy.  They can make a judgment about what went well and what did not, “whom to involve in future efforts, whom to trust, what the most effective timing is, how to create more powerful coalitions, and so forth” (Yoder‐Wise, 2019, p 52). The evaluation step is crucial because it allows the group to determine how to protect the current success and strategies needed to succeed.  However, there are challenges to these opportunities.

Policy drafting and analysis opportunities may present challenges because of poor technical knowledge and clinical skills and a lack of exposure to federal and state government involvement (Scott and Scott, 2020).  These current opportunities present challenges that can be overcome by proper training regarding policy draft and analysis during undergraduate nursing level and, of course, at the graduate level, encouraging students and faculty to participate in politics for policymaking and visiting the state and federal policy places. Scott and Scott (2020) argue that establishing relationships with policymakers is one of the best methods to get your issue on their agenda; it is about who you know and how you can influence them to listen to you.  Therefore, nurses must visit their local representatives to understand their stand on specific issues.  For example, if the nurse advocates for Covid-19 vaccines, they need to know how their local representative feels about the mass vaccination because if the representative does not fully support the vaccines, then the nurses will lose the support for publicizing the importance of the vaccines.  The representative can lobby against it because it is not profitable for them, challenging the nurses to prove their support and decisions.  If that becomes the case, nurses can use irrefutable evidence and knowledge more clearly and justifiably to publicize their support for the policy.

The strategies for better advocating are training and education programs for the nurses. Nurses already understand that they are the largest number of healthcare professionals in the healthcare industry, and therefore, their voices and suggestions are essential.  Advocating for patients at the bedside is as important as advocating for them at the state or federal government.  Nurses must understand that what they want for their patients, only they can deliver, and so, therefore, no one else can provide that on their behalf (Scott and Scott 2020). Suggestions from nurses will ensure safe and quality care through policymaking.

References

CDC. (2020, March 28). COVID Data Tracker. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home

For the 17th year in a row, nurses top Gallup’s poll of most trusted profession | AHA News. (2019, January 9). American Hospital Association | AHA News. https://www.aha.org/news/insights-and-analysis/2019-01-09-17th-year-row-nurses-top-gallups-poll-most-trusted-profession

Rasheed, S. P., Younas, A., & Mehdi, F. (2020). Challenges, Extent of Involvement, and the Impact of Nurses’ Involvement in Politics and Policy Making in in Last Two Decades: An Integrative Review. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 52(4), 446–455. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12567

Scott, S. M., & Scott, P. A. (2020). Nursing, advocacy and public policy. Nursing Ethics, 28(5), 723–733. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733020961823

Yoder‐Wise, P. S. (2019). A framework for planned policy change. Nursing Forum, 55(1), 45–53. https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12381