Influencing Health Care Through Advocacy Essay Paper

Influencing Health Care Through Advocacy Essay Paper

Choose a legislator on the state/federal level who is also a nurse and discuss the importance of the nurse’s role as advocate for improving health care delivery. What specific bills has the nurse sponsored or supported that have influenced health care.Influencing Health Care Through Advocacy Essay Paper

 

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Every nurse has the opportunity to make a positive impact on the profession through day-to-day advocacy for nurses and the nursing profession. In this article the author defines advocacy; describes advocacy skills every nurse can employ to advocate for a safe and healthy work environment; and explains how nurses can advocate for nursing as part of their daily activity whether they are point-of-care nurses, nurse managers, or nurse educators. The advocacy practices discussed are applicable whether advocating on one’s own behalf, for colleagues at the unit level, or for issues at the organizational or system level.Influencing Health Care Through Advocacy Essay Paper

Citation: Tomajan, K., (January 31, 2012) “Advocating for Nurses and Nursing” OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 17, No. 1, Manuscript 4.

DOI: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol17No01Man04

Key words: advancing the profession, advocacy, advocate, change management collaboration, communication, decision making, healthy work environments, nurse educators, nurse leaders, shared governance, staff involvement, influence, problem solving

changes can challenge resource allocation decisions and adversely affect the work environment [and] can also create opportunities for nurses and the nursing profession.These are challenging times in which to be employed in healthcare. Unprecedented changes in the healthcare system are impacting care in all practice settings. These changes include financial pressures, uncertainty of the direction of healthcare reform, mandates from regulatory agencies to improve quality and patient safety, advancing technology, looming workforce shortages, and changes in the patient population. These changes can challenge resource allocation decisions and adversely affect the work environment. However, these forces can also create opportunities for nurses and the nursing profession. These opportunities include a greater voice for nursing in healthcare policy, expanded employment opportunities, and an enhanced image for nurses and the profession (Benner, Stephen, Leonard, & Day, 2010; Institute of Medicine, 2011; Page, 2005).Influencing Health Care Through Advocacy Essay Paper

In order to successfully capitalize on these emerging opportunities, it is important for nurses to work together, across employment settings and roles, to advocate on behalf of colleagues and the profession. Nurses comprise the largest professional group within healthcare and have been recognized by the public as the most trusted profession (Gallup, 2010; Jones, 2010). Despite nursing’s strengths inherent in its size, diversity, and unique relationship with the public, the full potential for influence by the nursing profession has yet to be realized (Buresh, Gordon, & Benner, 2006).

Although nurses in the United States anticipate future benefits resulting from healthcare system reform, the stress of today’s workplace falls squarely on the shoulders of nurses at the point of care. To reap these future benefits, nurses need to advocate for the profession’s desired future. It is important that all nurses engage in, and become involved in developing processes in their respective work settings to advocate for realistic changes that meet the needs of both patients and staff.Influencing Health Care Through Advocacy Essay Paper

Other articles on advocacy in this topic have addressed the role of the nurse in patient advocacy and the advocacy role of the professional association. The purpose of this article is to explore strategies that enable nurses to successfully advocate for themselves and the nursing profession. Whether working within one’s own employment setting to advocate for a safer work environment, or at the state level to achieve prescriptive authority for advanced practice nurses, the process and skills required for successful advocacy are the same.

Advocacy Defined

Advocacy often requires working through formal, decision-making bodies to achieve a desired outcome.Advocacy is defined by the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (2009a) as the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal. An advocate is defined as one that pleads, defends, or supports a cause or interest of another. Much of the literature on advocacy comes from non-profit and special interest groups that prepare potential advocates to influence public policy. Strategies promoted by these groups are also applicable for nurses and the nursing profession. Amidei (2010) has described advocacy as “seeing a need and finding a way to address it” (p. 4). Sharma (1997) defined advocacy as “action aimed at changing the policies, positions or programs of any type of institution” (p. 4). Family Care International (2008) promoted advocacy as “the process of building support for an issue or cause and influencing others to take action” (p. 3); while the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance (2005) identified advocacy as “a process that can lead to change through influence” and a “way of directing decision-makers towards a solution” (p. 4). These definitions all suggest that the role of an advocate is to work on behalf of self and/or others to raise awareness of a concern and to promote solutions to the issue. Advocacy often requires working through formal, decision-making bodies to achieve a desired outcome. This process could include the ‘chain of command’ within a healthcare organization, a commission, a state legislature, or other groups at the healthcare system’s policy level.Influencing Health Care Through Advocacy Essay Paper

While most nurses readily embrace the mandate of the professional nurses’ advocacy role as it applies to patients, the expectation for advocacy on behalf of colleagues, the profession, or even oneself may not be so clear or consistently noted. The professional responsibilities of the nurse to work with colleagues to promote safe practice environments are described in the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) foundational documents, including the Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice (2010) and the Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretative Statements (Code of Ethics) (2001). The ANA Scope and Standards of Practice identifies advocacy for safe, effective practice environments as a responsibility of the professional nurse (ANA, 2010).The Code of Ethics describes the responsibility of the nurse to work through appropriate channels to address concerns about the healthcare environment. In addition, the Code of Ethics identifies a range of advocacy skills and activities that nurses are expected to demonstrate. These activities promote the profession and form the basis of the advocacy role for the professional nurse. The skills include service to the profession through teaching, mentoring, peer review, involvement in professional associations, community service, and knowledge development/dissemination (ANA, 2001). These activities and skills form the basis of advocacy role of the professional nurse.Influencing Health Care Through Advocacy Essay Paper

Advocacy Skills

The ability to successfully support a cause or interest on one’s own behalf or that of another requires a set of skills that include problem solving, communication, influence, and collaboration. Each of these skills will be discussed below.

Problem Solving

…it is important to take the time to develop a compelling request and to identify the appropriate time and individual to whom to make the request. Advocacy is focused on addressing problems or issues in need of a solution. The steps in the advocacy process are first to identify the issue(s) to be addressed and develop goals and a strategy to address the issue(s). Once the strategy is identified, a plan of action is developed to organize advocacy efforts and establish a time line for completing each activity that supports the strategy. Most advocacy initiatives involve approaching decision makers with requests for action to address the identified issue. Before approaching decision makers, however, it is important to take the time to develop a compelling request and to identify the appropriate time and individual to whom to make the request. Patience and a sense of timing are necessary in order to achieve a successful outcome. Few victories are achieved on the first attempt. Most advocacy initiatives are accomplished through collaboration, negotiation, and compromise; they may require a series of actions over time in-order-to achieve a desired outcome.Influencing Health Care Through Advocacy Essay Paper

 

 

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Communication

It can be helpful to put a ‘human face’ on the issue by using ‘word pictures’ to make the communication more compelling. Successful advocacy requires effective communication skills.Most advocacy initiatives involve bringing individuals and groups together to address an issue or concern. Advocates need to communicate clearly and concisely and to structure the message to fit both the situation and the intended audience. Advocates must be comfortable with verbal, written, and electronic formats. Communication regarding the issue should be factual and consistent. While it is important to be prepared to discuss the specific facts and data associated with the issue, it is equally important to discuss the impact of the situation on those involved. It can be helpful to put a ‘human face’ on the issue by using ‘word pictures’ (words that create a picture in another’s mind) to make the communication more compelling (Amidei, 2010).Influencing Health Care Through Advocacy Essay Paper

One way to help to formulate a consistent communication message is to prepare a ‘Sixty- Second Speech.’ This is a brief, practiced speech used to introduce the issue and proposed solution. Distributing a one-page fact sheet or brochure is an excellent way to close the speech, and ensure that the listener is walking away with the key points (Amidei, 2010). The following Box describes the content to include in a Sixty-Second Speech.

Influences of Health Care Research HCS/465 February 22nd, 2016 Dawn Bricker Influences of Health Care Research In this paper we will discuss an innovation that has been developed in the last 20 years that has influenced the health care industry. That innovation is telemedicine. Telemedicine What is telemedicine? According to the American Telemedicine Association, “Formally defined, telemedicine is the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve a patient’s clinical health status. Telemedicine includes a growing variety of applications and services using two-way video, email, smart phones, wireless tools and other forms of telecommunications technology.Influencing Health Care Through Advocacy Essay Paper
In some specialties, particularly in mental health and ICU care, telemedicine delivers a superior product, with greater outcomes and patient satisfaction. Consumers want telemedicine. The greatest impact of telemedicine is on the patient, their family and their community. Using telemedicine technologies reduces travel time and related stresses for the patient. Research According to the OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, “The impact of evidence-based practice (EBP) has echoed across nursing practice, education, and science. The call for evidence-based quality improvement and healthcare transformation underscores the need for redesigning care that is effective, safe, and efficient. In line with multiple direction-setting recommendations from national experts, nurses have responded to launch initiatives that maximize the valuable contributions that nurses have made, can make, and will make, to fully deliver on the promise of EBP. Such initiatives include practice adoption; education and curricular realignment; model and theory development; scientific engagement in the new fields of research; and development of a national research network to study improvement.” While this journal specifically talks about nursing, we can easily make the connection with any health care profession or specialty’s research that is being done. Telemedicine has gone and is going through External Influences “Within health care organizations of all sizes—from large academic Influencing Health Care Through Advocacy Essay Paper