Role of professional Nurse in Health Policy
Introduction The universal debate around health policy reforms has increased professional nurses' involvement in health policies. The engagement has been promoted because nurses form the majority of the global healthcare workforce as they work closely with the patients and their families. Therefore, the experiences of the nurses are critical in the formulation of healthcare policies. Additionally, various policies of the health sector have a significant impact on the work environment for nurses and their contribution. Therefore, the contributions of the nurses to the policies of the sector would ensure that a work environment that is supportive of clinical practices is developed. Historically, nurses play significant roles in the formulation of healthcare policies. For instance, professional nurses directly advocate forpublic policy developments,creating nurses’ understanding of competencies in policy and politics. Additionally, the professional nurses get involved in local policy making and encourage change. Therefore, the paper discusses the role of professional nurses in health policy and further identifies an action plan for the nurses to increase involvement. Role of Professional Nurses in Health Policy The professional nurses directly advocate for public policy developments. Professional nurses spend a lot of time interacting and working now with the patients, giving them particular knowledge of the need of the community that they serve. Therefore, professional nurses advocate for the development of the public through organizations such as the Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN), which encourage the professional nurse to advocate for healthcare policies and further avail resources to do so. The association divides advocacy into three components: creating policies where they are needed when non exist, reforming the harmful policies or the policies that are ineffective and further ensuring the implementation of good policies and their enforcement. Additionally, professional nurses practice patient advocacy. Professional nurses bring their patient advocacy skills to the boardroom for the transformation of policies. Professional nurses that serve in executive capacities have the clinical perspective to shed light on how nursing policies impact patient outcomes and business lines for healthcare institutions. The professional nurses push for shared governance models. Professional nurses can promote shared governance models at their employers. The shared governance model is a decision-making model that enables nurses to engage in decision- making about nursing activities. It also raises their proximity to patients as an asset that is valuable in their ability to make favourable choices. The adoption of a shared governance model is beneficial to patients since the decisions about patients' care are made by professionals who are aware of the primary details of their health and how the details may change.
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