Health policy decision-making usually results from legislation at the national, state, or local level Politics influence change and offers an avenue for nurses, including APRNs and RNs to take part in shaping the future of healthcare. Nurses can actively participate in policy-making through political involvement including communicating with local lawmakers,( for example, by e-mail correspondence, phone, personal visits, and writing a letter) supporting candidates, voting, and contributing time as well as financial support(Edelman et al., 2017).
Informing local representatives about health care issues and advising them on the needs of their constituents is another way nurses can become involved in policymaking. According to Edelman et al. (2017), lawmakers are greatly influenced by the information they are given along with the sources of this information. Nurses have vast knowledge about healthcare and they can provide policymakers with the needed information on which to base their decisions.The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy-Making.
Challenges that these opportunities may present and how I might overcome them
Lack of time and financial resources to contribute to legislators, lack of confidence and lack of knowledge and skills on political activism are challenges that these opportunities might present. Joel (2017) indicates that the notion of becoming politically active is frightening to most APRNs. They lack the confidence to become involved in or confidence concerning the way to advocate at the policy level. I can overcome these challenges by joining a professional organization. Political activism is a key expectation of the majority of professional nursing organizations. According to Milstead and Short (2017), most organizations hire professional lobbyists who carry the concerns and issues of the organizations forward to policymakers. Nurses also have a chance to voice their opinions as well as provide information from their practice and experiences via active participation in professional organizations.The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy-Making.
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