The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy-Making
The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy-Making
In today’s society, it is imperative that healthcare providers are active participants in the policy-making processes that relate to their professional work. Due to the fact that health care is a public issue that is affected by a plethora of factors, solutions to find accessible, affordable, and quality health care for the majority of patient populations are difficult to obtain. Therefore, the stories, data, and insight provided by individuals within the nursing profession can help policymakers construct the most effective policies to improve access and quality and reduce costs (Milstead & Short, 2019).
There are many opportunities that exist for Registered Nurses (RNs) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) to actively participate in policy-making. The first opportunity is through joining professional nursing organizations. For example, the lead organization that represents four million RNs is the American Nurses Association (ANA), and the ANA’s role is to influence health policy by ensuring the voices of its members are heard at the highest level. In addition, the efforts of the ANA are directed at the policymakers and agencies that are responsible for constructing the U.S. health care environment and whose decisions will affect patients and those that care for them (American Nurses Association, n.d.). A professional organization for Nurse Practitioners (NPs), the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), has a legislative team that represents APRNs and their patients on critical issues related to health care reform, access to care, patient safety, licensure, reimbursement, etc. The AANP also advocates for NP-related policies and represents NPs in health organizations and on national committees (American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 2021).
The second opportunity for RNs and APRNs to actively participate in policy-making is by contacting and communicating directly with a legislator. Through initiating communication, the RN or APRN is able to inform the legislator about an issue that may be of interest and ask the legislator and his/her staff members to stand up and act. The best way to contact a legislator and their staff members is via direct communication through e-mail and telephone, but letters can be sent as well. By establishing a relationship with policymakers, RNs and APRNs can become trusted sources of nonpartisan, objective information and analysis over time (Kostas-Polston et al., 2015).
Although RNs and APRNs play a crucial role in policy-making, there are still challenges that persist that result in very low involvement of nurses at the organizational and national levels. This lack of participation by RNs and APRNs can be attributed to professional organization membership fees and costs, inadequate education regarding the impact of nurses’ involvement in policy-making, disinterest in politics and policy-making resulting in an absence of political competence, and time and resource constraints. In order to overcome these challenges, it is fundamental that nurses receive adequate knowledge, mentorship, and guidance at the graduate and bachelor’s levels regarding participation in professional organizations and policy-making. Furthermore, RNs and APRNs can take action by participating in policy forums, policy debates, and discussions over social media to make their voices heard (Rasheed et al., 2020).
Potential strategies to better advocate for or communicate the existence of these opportunities for RNs and APRNs to participate in policy-making include training to develop policies for their units or organizations under the expertise of a mentor and advocating for more support and involvement from nurse managers and leaders (Rasheed et al., 2020). If RNs and APRNs are well versed and prepared for policy development, they would have more initiative to be involved in the policy-making process and fight for both their rights and patients’ rights. Nurse managers and leaders can influence staff participation by conducting educational workshops and discussions regarding policy-making, as well as encouraging RNs and APRNs to attend conferences held by professional organizations that relate to the impact of nurses’ contribution to politics and policy-making. These recommendations may help RNs and APRNs realize the power and capabilities they have through their actions and involvement in the policy-making process to change the healthcare system for the better.
References
American Association of Nurse Practitioners. (2021). Federal advocacy.
https://www.aanp.org/advocacy/federal
American Nurses Association (n.d.). Health policy.
https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/health-policy/
Kostas-Polston, E. A., Thanavaro, J., Arvidson, C. & Taub, L. M. (2015). Advanced practice
nursing: Shaping health through policy. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 27(1), 11-20. https://doi.org/10.1002/2327-6924.12192
Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.).
Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Rasheed, S. P., Younas, A., & Mehdi, F. (2020). Challenges, extent of involvement, and the
impact of nurses’ involvement in politics and policy making in the last two decades: An integrative review. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 52(4), 446-455.
http://dx.doi.org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1111/jnu.12567
Discussion 2: The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy-Making
Word cloud generators have become popular tools for meetings and team-building events. Groups or teams are asked to use these applications to input words they feel best describe their team or their role. A “word cloud” is generated by the application that makes prominent the most-used terms, offering an image of the common thinking among participants of that role.
What types of words would you use to build a nursing word cloud? Empathetic, organized, hard-working, or advocate would all certainly apply. Would you add policy-maker to your list? Do you think it would be a very prominent component of the word cloud?
Nursing has become one of the largest professions in the world, and as such, nurses have the potential to influence policy and politics on a global scale. When nurses influence the politics that improve the delivery of healthcare, they are ultimately advocating for their patients. Hence, policy-making has become an increasingly popular term among nurses as they recognize a moral and professional obligation to be engaged in healthcare legislation.
To Prepare:
- Revisit the Congress.gov website provided in the Resources and consider the role of RNs and APRNs in policy-making.
- Reflect on potential opportunities that may exist for RNs and APRNs to participate in the policy-making process.
By Day 3 of Week 8
Post an explanation of at least two opportunities that exist for RNs and APRNs to actively participate in policy-making. 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 to participate in policy-making. Be specific and provide examples.
By Day 6 of Week 8
Respond to at least two of your colleagues’* posts by suggesting additional opportunities or recommendations for overcoming the challenges described by your colleagues.
Response 1
Thank you for your detailed initial post and also for your response to my initial post. The American Nurses Association (ANA) is definitely an important national association to be a member of because national associations like the ANA are known to exert tremendous influence on a process (Laureate, 2018). I appreciated the input you gave me on working with senior nurses and being more educated on ways to get involved in the policy-making process. The idea of a mentorship program, especially institutionally, is smart because many senior nurses in leadership roles have upper-level education and know the importance of policy-making and how to accomplish it effectively. Disch (2019) states that nurses at the bedside should have input into unit‐based policies that affect patient care or nursing practice, just like how nurse educators have input in their curricular design, student clinical experiences, and nursing school policies that affect student learning and faculty practice. It is not just about the achievement and credibility of the nurse, but also their knowledge and viewpoint that has such a large impact on safe quality care and much needed healthcare reforms. “Without the nursing perspective, healthcare recommendations and solutions are suboptimal and policies may end up impractical, expensive, unrealistic, and not followed” (Disch, 2019).
References
Disch, J. (2019, August). Nursing leadership in policy formation. Nursing Forum 55(1), 4-10.Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1111/nuf.12375
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Health policy and politics [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
