The Role Of The RN/Aprn In Policy Making

THE ROLE OF THE NURSES IN POLICY MAKING

Beverly Spencer

THE ROLE OF THE NURSES IN POLICY MAKING

Nurses are directly associated with the application and the implications of the healthcare narratives. They form the largest section of healthcare service providers. Nurses directly record the gaps in healthcare initiatives and policy failures in the systems. Hence nurses can provide effective knowledge regarding the formulation of policies. Nurse’s understanding of policy may increase the quality of care, identify the resources required and recognition of the voids in the policy CITATION Reb11 \l 1033 (Ludwick, 2011). Therefore it is important to include nurses in the policy-making process. Therefore, including the nurses and characterizing them as ‘policymakers’ in the ‘word cloud’ would further enhance their roles in medical care.

The nursing leaders and administrators facilitate and encourage the staff to provide an encouraging atmosphere which facilitates the healthcare staff to develop and identify ideas to encourage policy development CITATION STo05 \l 1033 (Toofany, 2005). The nurses shall be presented with opportunities to develop and initiate policies at local, national and international levels, through workshops, seminars and political conferences and training CITATION RBr12 \l 1033 (Bryant, 2012 ). The policymaking bodies and organizations should also encourage nurses to voice their opinions and actively involve in policy formulation.The biggest challenge to opportunities like these is the financial access and availability of resources to encourage such events.

A collaborative nursing environment can also provide an atmosphere of learning and policy outcomes at international levels. The STTI works actively to formulate policies and enhance healthcare globally CITATION She16 \l 1033 (Burke, 2016). It encourages visionary and enthusiastic nursing leaders who understand the political, social and economic imperatives of policymaking to take part in effective planning and decision-making processes and developing health policies that are appropriate and are vital for all healthcare systems. STTI has initiated the Global Advisory Panel on the Future of Nursing (GAPFON) that addresses the prominent policy areas by the Nursing leadership CITATION HCK15 \l 1033 (HC Klopper, 2015). The only challenge to such an opportunity is access to these large organizations.Nursing leaders formulating universal policies for health may be faced with a relative approach to the policy requirementsof different countries and therefore the ideas presented by some nurses may never gain attention as compared to others.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Bryant, R. (2012 ). Nursing and Health Policy Perspectives. International Nursing Review.

Burke, S. A. (2016, February 6). Influence through policy: Nurses have a unique role. Retrieved from Reflections of Nursing Leadership: https://www.reflectionsonnursingleadership.org/commentary/more-commentary/Vol42_2_nurses-have-a-unique-role

HC Klopper, M. H. (2015). Global advisory panel on the future of nursing (GAPFON) and global health. Journal of nursing scholarship.

Ludwick, R. M. (2011). Leading the Way in Policy. Institute of Medicine.

Toofany, S. (2005). Nurses and health policy. Nursing Management.