Advocacy is one of the best tools that nurses can use to advancing the nursing field. Improve the nursing field means better patient outcomes. therefore, nurses must advocate in their workplaces and particularly in actively participating in government actions that change the health platform. Those actions include healthcare reforms that look for a better quality of care, access the healthcare, and healthcare cost-effective. The American Nurse Association provide tools to nurses that allow them to integrate advocacy committee to be able to work with the legislative branch of federal level as well as the state level (ANA, n.d.). in taking advantage of the advocacy committees, nurses can take many actions to improve healthcare trough legislation at both states and federal level.
Through the political action committee provided by the American Nurse Association, nurses can present themselves as candidates to represent the healthcare professional in capitol hill and other legislative activities at the state level. In doing so, nurse leaders will have the opportunity to raise their voices in policymaking, particularly within the legislative and regulatory arenas. They will bring their concerns about the nursing workforce and health disparities, which are examples of policies established in law. Their interventions are very important because health care policy is constantly changing; and nurses must always be part of the change analyst team to advocate not only their scope of practice but also the patient right to have access to health care and to receive excellent quality of care (Schaeffer & Haebler, 2019).
Nurses may use their researches and communicate with their concerns to their local government. As an example, a bill was taken in the state of Florida that authorizes qualified providers to collect medicine that was available in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Still, those who had the prescription could not use it. Those medicines were ordered to serve homeless and other uninsured patients who cannot afford their medicine cost. Even though the senate’s health committee introduced the bill, nurses had to analyze the proposition and look if the patient’s right was considered and the consequences on patient outcomes.
In summary, there are many ways a nurse can intervene to advocate for better quality and access to healthcare. The patient center care should be the primary concern of the health care professional. Nurses may use the Association of American Nurses’ possibilities to get to federal and state legislators to bring their voices to health committees. Their concern must be affordable health care, improve healthcare access, improve quality of care, and improve the regulation of their scope of practice. When nurses are working closer to the governments, they can advocate for patient care and establish better means for improving the health care system. Nurse leaders should always think of how to make s difference in the quality of care that all patients deserve. That is why I plan to advocate not only in searching for issues that are raised in workplaces but also those that are in the laws to make a difference in patient care outcomes.
References
American Nurses Association. (n.d.). Advocacy, retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/advocacy/
Schaeffer, R., Haebler, J. (2019) Nurse Leaders: extending your policy influence. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1541461219301491
