The nursing profession operates under many strict government regulations and laws as well as facility-specific policies on an everyday basis. Many laws help to keep the nurses and their patients safe. The nurses’ involvement with politics begins the moment they begin nursing school. The very curriculum that nurses must successfully accomplish is the result of a political process in order to implement a standard for minimum education to enter the workforce. Nurses learn about community health nursing and the importance of advocating for their patients. It may be overlooked that being politically active and involve in policy making is patient advocacy.
Nurses occupy a strategic position to be able to focus on the healthcare …show more content…
As a result, nurses do not feel confident about participating in discussions or advocate for their profession (Neal-Boylan, 2015). There are many different specialty areas and nurses are very eclectic and varied in their backgrounds and beliefs, making it difficult to know if you are saying the right things.
Nurses that want to be involved in policy making and legislation may simply not know where to go to get the information that they need. There are a number of different organizations that are available for nurses to join. The number of options may actually be overwhelming for some, especially right after nursing school, that they opt out of participating. The rewards for both nurses and their patients may not be seen for a long time because policy making is a lengthy process so any benefits are not perceived for many to become involved.
What is Already Being …show more content…
As an entire professional group we have made a lot of progress for ourselves through history to get where we are today. We have many organizations that connect us with each other and resources needed to make our voices heard regarding important healthcare issues. Nurses have gained ground for our APRNs to allow them to operate more autonomously. There are still many issues that nurses must face daily that are the target of debate right now including staffing issues and nurses ability to work within the Veteran’s Association without physician supervision (Rein,