Weekly Discussion 7
University:
Galen College
Weekly Discussion 7
Paper Instructions
Reflect on your discussion post from Week 4 and policy advocacy letter from Week 6. After reviewing the healthcare policy about which you are passionate and the letter you wrote to your legislator, consider how you can continue to advocate for that policy.
In your discussion, identify additional ways nurses can advocate for change. Consider how advocacy can take place within local and state settings.
How can nurses promote advocacy for your healthcare legislation, or other types of healthcare legislation, during elections? Does understanding a candidate’s stance on health and healthcare matter?
What is an activist and what is the role of a nurse as an activist?
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Sample Answer
In the previous assignment, I wrote to CA State Senator Melissa Hurtado requesting her support for the pending bill SB 839, titled Obesity Treatment Parity Act. Nurses can advocate for change through professional nursing organizations, as most take part in advocacy activities.
Nurses wishing to engage in policy-making can join professional organizations that have more influence in advocacy activities due to their large membership (Safari et al., 2020). Professional nursing organizations mentor their members on advocacy strategies, making them better policy advocates.
In the local and state settings, nurses can advocate for policy change by approaching legislators and convincing them to support proposed bills (Nsiah et al., 2019). They can engage in advocacy by championing proposed proposals and convincing elected legislators to support the bills.
During elections, nurses can advocate advocacy for healthcare legislation by getting in touch with candidates vying for different elective seats. Nurses can present their views on specific bills and explain to those vying how they will impact healthcare delivery, access, and healthcare outcomes (Nsiah et al., 2019).
It is vital that nurses understand a candidate’s stance on health and healthcare during advocacy since if they are elected, the candidate will play a major role in enacting policies that favor or hinder healthcare delivery. Furthermore, knowing a candidate’s stance enables nurses to know whether to approach them to advocate for a bill and if the candidate will help.
An activist is a person who makes an intentional action to bring about social or political change. The nurse’s role as an activist is to promote social justice by advocating for equity during the provision of health resources at the state and national levels (Nsiah et al., 2019). The nurse also champions the interests and needs of patients, patient’s families, and the community.
References
- Nsiah, C., Siakwa, M., & Ninnoni, J. P. K. (2019). Registered Nurses’ description of patient advocacy in the clinical setting. Nursing open, 6(3), 1124–1132. https //doi.org/10.1002/nop2.307
- Safari, M. B., Bahadori, M., & Alimohammadzadeh, K. (2020). The Related Factors of Nurses’ Participation and Perceived Benefits and Barriers in Health Policy Making. Journal of Nursing Research, 28(4), e103. https //doi.org/10.1097/jnr.0000000000000385
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