The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation Essay

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The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation Essay Samples

No one understands the complexities of medically related policy issues better than those of us who work in the medical profession daily. Nurses can advocate and influence health care policy at the local, state, and federal levels. The first opportunity is to contact political officials and explain why you are concerned about a specific policy. Your personal experience, notably as a healthcare practitioner, provides substantial supporting evidence. Consider how you genuinely believe an issue will influence and impact the medical community, your community, or your family. “Elected officials count on—in fact, they need—constituent input like yours to be influential legislators. Ongoing communication is the only way public representatives will know and understand how voters feel about particular issues” (A publication of the American Medical Association, n.d.).

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Unfortunately, one voice may not be enough; nonetheless, a thousand voices will be enough. We accomplish this by becoming members of professional nursing associations, which advocate for registered nurses at the highest levels of government when policies are drafted, discussed, and implemented. By lobbying Congress and executive agencies and providing evidence-based resources and information that enable nurses to communicate their thoughts and expertise directly with policymakers, the ANA amplifies nurses’ voices The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation Essay. Policymakers are provided written recommendations from the ANA on behalf of the nursing communities. These are frequently joint endeavors inside the ANA and with our Constituent/State Nursing Associations, organizational affiliates, and other nursing organizations. (American Nurses Association, 2019). The first stage is to identify appropriate clinical policies; they must then be studied and executed with knowledge and abilities to improve healthcare. Examining the data that supports a clinical policy is a necessary step in assessing it. Consider the policy’s validity, target population, the effectiveness of implementation, and any inherent biases. Build consensus for the policy before adopting it, then modify it to initiate change, revise it for evaluation, pilot test it, finally adjust it if necessary (Gilbert & Julie Scott Taylor, 2014).

From undergraduate through graduate degrees, nursing schools should incorporate healthcare policymaking education to understand how policy and advocacy are vital to patient care and healthcare systems. Education significantly impacts nurse clinicians’ knowledge and competencies (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2019). Nurses will be empowered, proactive, and strategically involved in health policy development proposals as a result The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation Essay.

Reference

A publication of the American Medical Association. (n.d.). https://patientsactionnetwork.com/sites/default/files/guide-to-communicating-with-congress.pdf

American Nurses Association. (2019). Federal issues. ANA. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/advocacy/federal/

Gilbert, T. T., & Julie Scott Taylor. (2014). How to Evaluate and Implement Clinical Policies. Family Practice Management, 6(3), 28. https://www.aafp.org/fpm/1999/0300/p28.html

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2019). American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) > News & Information > Fact Sheets > Impact of Education on Nursing Practice. Aacnnursing.org. https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/Impact-of-Education

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5 months ago

Cyrin Natividad 

RE: Discussion – Week 9

COLLAPSE

Hi John Michael, 

Your post is great. The work of nurses in policy work helps shape the types of care that will be provided today and tomorrow. Nurses can and should influence practice standards and processes to assure the quality of care. Resources are also allocated to support healthcare delivery based on policies (Burke, 2016). I agree with your statement that healthcare policy education should integrate into nursing schools; hence, nursing students should be prepared to engage in health policy to ensure the nursing workforce directly influences health care policy and financing (Thomas et al.) The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation Essay. As such, nurses should be interested in ensuring their students can understand, engage, and advance health policy efforts. By providing nursing schools with more educational opportunities that assist students in learning about health policy and participating in professional and advocacy organizations, nursing schools will support the students’ growing desire to succeed as health policy leaders. 

References: 

Burke, S. (2016, June 2). Influence through policy: Nurses have a unique role. Nursingcentered.sigmanursing.org. https://nursingcentered.sigmanursing.org/commentary/more-commentary/Vol42_2_nurses-have-a-unique-role 

Thomas, T., Martsolf, G., & Puskar, K. (2019). How to Engage Nursing Students in Health Policy: Results of a Survey Assessing Students’ Competencies, Experiences, Interests, and Values. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 21(1), 12–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527154419891129 

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5 months ago

Angela Sullivan 

RE: Discussion – Week 9

COLLAPSE

“Nurses need to influence the formulation of health policies rather than just implementation of them. Then, they need to be active in the development of health policies to be better able to control their practice” (Arabi, et al, 2014) The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation Essay. Even though I’ve been a nurse for 28 years, I have no idea how to go about effectively contributing to policy change. I’m hoping through my courses here at Walden I will develop some knowledge on the topic. I do believe this is an important area of education that needs to be presented to all nursing students throughout their education.

Evidenced based practice and research are great ways to collect data to present to various organizations that show what the benefits of policy change is. The “Triple Aim,” as it is called, became a priority for the United States with the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010. The Triple Aim is defined as “improving the individual experience of care; improving the health of populations; and reducing the per capita costs of care for populations.” A fourth aim, to reduce burnout and improve the clinical experiences of nurses, has since been added”(UMFK, 2020). 

Arabi, A., Rafii, F., Cheraghi, M. A., & Ghiyasvandian, S. (2014, May). Nurses’ policy influence: A concept analysis. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research. Retrieved October 30, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4061635/.

What is evidence-based practice in nursing? University of Maine Fort Kent Online. (2020, September 2). Retrieved October 30, 2021, from https://online.umfk.edu/articles/rnbsn/evidence-based-practice-nursing.aspx The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation Essay.

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5 months ago

Jessica Ferrin 

RE: Discussion – Week 9

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            The registered nurses (RNs) role in policy review is important in many ways. The ability to apply evidence-based practice and experience gives the RN an advantage during the review process as he or she can speak to clinical practice. Because of this, it is imperative RNs and advanced practice nurses become involved in the policy process. Anders (2020) states advocacy is the center of the nursing process and by developing clinical competency, safe and optimal care is delivered.

            By joining a professional organization, nurses can become involved in policy (Brokow, 2020). Aside from lobbying for change, and assisting with healthcare matters, nurses can also be involved in the evaluation of the policies they advocated for. Policies must be evaluated to determine their effectiveness (Laureate, 2018). Nurses can also be involved in policy review at the bedside. What better way to review policies and procedures put in place than at the bedside? Clinical and evidence based practice guidelines direct our patient care and by becoming involved in policy review at the local level, nurses become the biggest advocate for our patients.

            The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation Essay Challenges also arise with the burden of policy review. Laureate (2018) discusses that oftentimes the review process of policy making can be ignored. If this is ignored, how do we know if the policy and procedure put in place is effective? An additional challenge for nurses is the overwhelming feeling of uncertainty. If nurses are not participatory in continuing education, best practice guidelines, and the policy process then they are less likely to become involved and assume the advocacy role.

References

Anders, R. L. (2020). Engaging nurses in health policy in the era of COVID-19. Nurse Forum. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7675349/pdf/NUF-9999-na.pdf

Browkow, J. (2020). The nursing profession’s potential impact on policy and politics. American Nurse. Retrieved from https://www.myamericannurse.com/nursing-professions-potential-impact-policy-politics/

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Program Policy and Evaluation [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Importance of Program Evaluation [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation Essay.

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5 months ago

Annisha Mcgowan 

RE: Discussion – Week 9

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Hi Jessica, I enjoyed reading your discussion. Policy making is very important and more nurses need to get involved. Key to the success in making your vision become reality is understanding the policy-making process and using it to help translate your change into reality of everyday practice; in this way, you can become a policy advocate (Patton, Zalon, Ludwick, & Abood, 2019). A challenge many nurses face with policy making is understanding the process of policy making. Becoming educated in policy making is a way to correct the challenge of insufficient knowledge in policy making. I agree with you that nurses can become involved in policy making by joining a professional nursing organization. Members of professional organizations obtain benefits such as continuing education, help with job seeking, also to communicate with other nurses with the same interest as you The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation Essay. Policy evaluation is the process of seeing if the policy is working, needs to be changed, or need to be rewritten. Nurses need to be involved in the evaluation process especially because nurses interact more with patients. Nurses can give an input on the success or failure of a policy. Nurses need to understand the importance of empowerment and participation in the policy-making process (Hajizadeh et al., 2021).

                                                                                             References

Rebecca M. Patton, D. R. C. F., Margarete L. Zalon, P. R. A.-B. F., & Ruth Ludwick, P. R.-B. A.-C. F. (2019). Nurses Making Policy, Second Edition : From Bedside to Boardroom: Vol. Second edition. Springer Publishing Company.

Hajizadeh, A., Zamanzadeh, V., Kakemam, E., Bahreini, R., & Khodayari-Zarnaq, R. (2021). Factors influencing nurses participation in the health policy-making process: a systematic review. BMC Nursing, 20(1), 128. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00648-6

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5 months ago

Scott Lamprecht 

RE: Discussion – Week 9

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Great post! Another aspect is learning how to talk to politicians. It sounds terrible but they have a 2 min attention span. If you go longer than that they stop listening and completely miss the point. Also many of them are biased by the big lobbying funds from physician groups. The best strategy for nurses is that nurses represent large numbers of voters. This gets their attention because their number one concern is re-election.

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5 months ago

Angela Sullivan 

RE: Discussion – Week 9

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” EBP enables nurses to evaluate research so they understand the risks or effectiveness of a diagnostic test or treatments. The application of EBP enables nurses to include patients in their care plan” (Eastern Illinois University, 2018).  It allows patients to be involved in the choices and care they receive. It enables them to receive education and to ask questions to determine their care and course of treatment.

In the healthcare organization “the application of EBP comes better patient outcomes, which can decrease the demand for healthcare resources. Thus, healthcare organizations can reduce expenses” (Eastern Illinois University, 2018). This is accomplished through research. Choosing a topic to research and refine and developing a plan and implementing it for tracking purposes will help to show if there are benefits and pros and cons to the proposed change. “Evidence-Based Policy-Making, then, is about making decisions based on knowing with an estimated degree of certainty what works, at achieving which outcomes, for which groups of people, under what conditions, over what time span, and at what costs?” (dpme.gov.za, 2014). 

Overview paper what is evidence-based policy-making and … What is Evidence-Based Policy-Making and Implementation? (2014, October). Retrieved October 29, 2021, from https://www.dpme.gov.za/keyfocusareas/evaluationsSite/Evaluations/What%20is%20EBPM%2014%2010%2013_mp.pdf.

Why is evidence-based practice in nursing so important? Eastern Illinois University Online. (2018, December 10). Retrieved October 29, 2021, from https://learnonline.eiu.edu/articles/rnbsn/evidence-based-practice-important.aspx.

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5 months ago

Andrea Cholagh 

Response #2

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  Jessica, great post! I loved reading your discussion since becoming a member of an organization is a great way for a nurse to participate in policy review (Brokow, 2020).  I also agree that during the review process, RNs and APRNs should consistently apply evidence-based practice and their experience; this is what gives a nurse the upper hand.   Have you considered social media being effective for policy review?  According to O’Connor (2017), nursing leaders should embrace social media as one of numerous engagement approaches to ensure that nurses and other stakeholders participate in policy debates that inform the formulation of health plans. Social media can be used to reach out to nurses and engage them in policy conversations, resulting in more uniform policy and practice (O’Connor, 2017).  Furthermore, there are numerous obstacles associated with policy review, one of which, as you point out, is that the review process is frequently ignored.  Education is a way to overcome that challenge and communicate opportunities.  Work would be the best location to educate and stimulate involvement because there are so many RN/APRN colleagues at work and meetings to raise awareness.  Do you think education is an effective way to overcome challenges associated with nurses getting involved in policy-review? The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation Essay

References

Browkow, J. (2020). The nursing profession’s potential impact on policy and politics. American Nurse. https://www.myamericannurse.com/nursing-professions-potential-impact-policy-politics/

O’Connor, S. (2017). Using social media to engage nurses in health policy development. Journal of Nursing Management, 25(8), 632-639. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12501

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5 months ago

Misty Williams 

RE: Discussion – Week 9

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        Nurses have many opportunities to be involved in policymaking. Not only can we join professional organizations, but we can also get involved in our place of employment and in the community. Nurses have the education, knowledge, and experience that are much needed to investigate the role of new policies and to effectively participate in the review of older policies to improve the greater good of the community. Evaluation and review are important to help people understand what the impact of a policy that was implemented is and whether the policymakers should support a bill or not, whether a piece of legislation needs to be reshaped, and how a bill that has been enacted should be implemented (Laureate, 2018). 

        Opportunities that currently exist for RNs and APRNs to actively participate in policy review are joining an organization. The American Nurses Association, the American Academy of Nurses, and the Academy of Nursing offer much opportunity to be involved in policy review. Communication with other nurses can broaden our understanding of the policy and can help us to gain a better understanding and make additional changes if needed. Another way to actively participate in policy review is to get involved with Evidenced Based Research. When the opportunity arises at our workplace to be involved, we should do so. There are often times when surveys are sent out to nurses to review a process or policy. Simply taking the time to fill out a questionnaire or survey is a fantastic way to participate in the review process. 

        There are always challenges that these opportunities may present. Joining professional organizations or committee sometimes takes on a-time commitment. Talking with your manager about your involvement is a wonderful way to approach this dilemma. Usually, managers are open to accommodate a schedule that may help to improve a policy or policy review. Lack of confidence is also a challenge that can be overcome. For example, if the thought of being involved has a person anxious to participate they can obtain more education by reading more about the subject being investigated. We have the advantage of research material and peer reviews at our fingertips through Walden library and the internet. It is up to us to further explore evidenced based research and gives us the opportunity for review of policy. 

References