Week 2 Discussion (Issues and Trends) PDF

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Weekly discussion posts (issues and trends)...

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Week 2 Discussion Nurses can be an integral part of designing public policy as political leaders. As a registered nurse, you have a professional commitment to improve health care. However, many nurses are not politically active and do not lobby for important aspects of their profession. ● What are the reasons many nurses do not actively engage in lobbying efforts? ○ “Major factors acting as barriers to participation include inadequate political and policy development skills, lack of status of women that also shapers the image of nursing, lack of education and lack of supportive organizational structures” (Shariff, 2014, pg. 3).

● What actions can nurses take to encourage themselves and their peers to get involved politically and lobby for specific issues such as healthcare policy changes? Provide a detailed example. ○ Feeling and being supported is important when it comes to policy development. It includes “benefiting from role models, supportive mentorship and networks for support and sharing experiences” (Shariff, 2014, pg. 6). Being supported is also done through teamwork. “There are two important aspects for teamwork in policy influence: One of them is nursing coalitions in the framework of associations and organizations and the second one is interdisciplinary participation” (Arabi, et al., 2014, pg. 319). Some activities nurses can participate in include voting; campaigning; attending rallies; volunteering; contacting elected officials; working with others on local problems or issues; and being a member of nursing or non-nursing organizations that take stands on political issues (Alhassan, et al., 2019).

References Alhassan, A., Kumi-Kyereme, A., Wombeogo, M., Fuseini, A-G. (February 22, 2019). Nurse Participation in Political Activities: Level and Practices of Registered Nurses in Tamale, Ghana. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 24, No. 2. https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol24No02PPT63. Arabi, A., Rafii, F., Cheraghi, M. A., & Ghiyasvandian, S. (2014). Nurses' policy influence: A concept analysis. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research, 19(3), 315–322. Shariff N. (2014). Factors that act as facilitators and barriers to nurse leaders' participation in health policy development. BMC nursing, 13, 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6955-13-20....