Should nurses be involved in the political process?
Political involvement encompasses being knowledgeable about issues, laws, and health policy. Barriers to political activism a … Nursing apathy toward participation in the political process is pandemic. Never more so than today has the profession needed a strong united stand within the political arena.
How can we encourage political activism in nursing?
Families and friends of nurses need to encourage political activism. Nursing schools need to include healthcare policy education as part of the curriculum, as well as encourage some level of political involvement from nursing students.
How can nurses influence health policy debates?
As the largest group of healthcare providers, nurses are in a unique and very powerful position to serve as advocates for patients, communities, and the nursing profession, by leveraging their numbers to exert influence on healthcare policies ( Avolio, 2014; Vandenhouten et al., 2011 ). Nurses must be seen and heard in health policy debates.
Why should nurses vote?
We can vote for people who will support our job security, and adequate funding for health care. We can also reinforce the importance of the nursing profession by contacting politicians to share information and let them know that nurses vote. Political activity gives nurses an opportunity to represent and advance our professional values.
Why do nurses need to be involved in the political process?
For nurses to advocate effectively for the profession and their clients, to be able to address the social determinants of health and to influence policy formulation at all levels, they must be active in the political process beyond voting.
Why political advocacy in nursing is important?
Legislative and political advocacy in the arena of healthcare are very important, and nurses who lend their voices can shape the future of healthcare. Nurses can promote the importance of their profession and its impact on healthcare access and patient results.
How does politics affect nursing?
Political apathy in the nursing profession can be attributed to numerous factors, including a lack of knowledge of the political process and public policy formation, feelings of powerlessness, and a perceived ethical conflict between professional values and political involvement.
Should nurses be political?
We can advocate for our patients. For me, the most important reason to be politically active is because politics is a means for nurses to advocate for patients. Advocacy is very important for nurses because social justice is a core value of the nursing profession.
What is political advocacy nursing?
Political Advocacy in Nursing. Nursing has a historical foundation based on advocacy to promote health equity and social justice for both individuals and society at large (Boutain, 2005a, 2005b, 2008).
Is political advocacy ethical for nurses?
It's your right to do so, even if others disagree with your perspective. Your interest in being involved in politics and policy is supported by the Code. Provision 8 states that health is a universal right and that nurses must address the context of health to advance human rights and reduce disparities.
Why is healthcare advocacy important?
Health advocates can play a critical role in explaining health information to patients, helping them make informed decisions about their health. By working to minimize the communication gap between healthcare professionals and patients, health advocates are key to improving health outcomes.
How do I get politically involved in nursing?
How Nurses Can Get Involved in Policy ChangeGet involved in policy-making at a local and state level.Run for office at the local, state, or national level.Join a nursing board.Join a professional organization.Join a minority nursing organization.Advocate, connect, or volunteer through the ANA.
How does politics affect nurses?
Laws were enacted in Canada to decrease distracted driving, and there have been fewer car accidents as a result. This means fewer trauma codes, fewer ICU admissions, fewer fatalities. Laws and political decisions impact care we need to provide as nurses. As nurses, we can ask ourselves, who is coming through our doors? What could be done to address preventable illness and injury?
Why do nurses vote?
Wage freezes, working without a contract, decreases to hospital funding, strikes- most of us have been there. Nurses can follow these funding decisions directly to their impact on patient care, because of our role providing patient care. When we vote, we elect people who will make budgeting decisions . We can vote for people who will support our job security, and adequate funding for health care. We can also reinforce the importance of the nursing profession by contacting politicians to share information and let them know that nurses vote. Political activity gives nurses an opportunity to represent and advance our professional values.
Why is the medical profession so galvanised?
The medical profession are often galvanised in their political missions to preserve the integrity and entitlements of their profession . Unfortunately nursing often seems to rely on unions or figureheads to represent our professional interests and often feel disempowered or disinterested by the politics of healthcare.
Why is it important to be politically active?
We can advocate for our patients. For me, the most important reason to be politically active is because politics is a means for nurses to advocate for patients. Advocacy is very important for nurses because social justice is a core value ...
How can political decisions affect health care?
A lot of the social determinants of health can be impacted through political decisions. Nurses can help to protect health care access for vulnerable populations. An example of this is refugees. In Canada, funding was cut to refugee health care programs. An outcry from multiple professions took the case to the Supreme Court of Canada, where the decision was overturned. This is an example of when political action was effective to advocate for a vulnerable population.
How to tell your elected representatives about an issue?
Call or email your elected representatives, and tell them about an issue that matters to you.
How to talk about politics?
Talk about politics with your coworkers, friends, and neighbors. Encourage them to get involved too, even if they have different views.
What is the role of a nurse in politics?
The implementation of a political role for a nurse is based on three levels of commitment including survival, success, and significance. Survival includes individual involvement within communities. Success accepts challenges in addressing injustices especially within the health-care arena. Significant involvement uses visionary nurses toward ...
What is significant involvement in nursing?
Significant involvement uses visionary nurses toward the betterment of the nurse profession. Strategies for involvement include political awareness, incorporation of course/program expectations on both undergraduate and graduate levels and teamwork.
What are the barriers to political activism?
Barriers to political activism are thought to encompass several spectra including heavy workloads, feelings of powerlessness, time constraints, sex issues, and lack of understanding of a complex political process.
Is nursing a political process?
Nursing apathy toward participation in the political process is pandemic. Never more so than today has the profession needed a strong united stand within the political arena. Political involvement encompasses being knowledgeable about issues, laws, and health policy. Barriers to political activism are thought to encompass several spectra ...
Why do nurses need political awareness?
Nurses and other healthcare professionals must maintain a certain level of political awareness if they are to have an appropriate impact on legislation, regulation and other initiatives that affect healthcare or nursing.
Who will lead the charge in protecting (or even expanding) the Nurse Practice Act under threat?
When these battle lines are drawn, politically astute nurses and nurse leaders will often lead the charge in protecting (or even expanding) the Nurse Practice Act under threat.
Is healthcare political?
When healthcare reform is under attack, healthcare becomes political. When school nurse positions are defunded, that nursing specialty is politicized. In sum, healthcare is undoubtedly political, and what you do in response to the issues you care about means something. Politics impacts lives. Local, state and national elections have real-life ...
Can legislation affect nursing practice?
As mentioned above, legislation that impacts nursing practice can radically change nurses' work lives. And for physicians, physical therapists, radiologists and other healthcare providers, we're singing the same song.
Is it wise to be informed in elections?
Local, state and national elections have real-life consequences on issues that we care about, and no matter where a nurse or healthcare provider falls on the political spectrum, being an informed citizen is prudent and wise.
Do nurses serve in Congress?
Several nurses have served in the U.S . Congress, and more than a handful of physicians have also sought political office. Having a seat at the table gives nurses and other interested parties a voice in crucial and far-reaching conversations.
Is being politically aware a modus operandi?
For nurses who care about the state of the industry in which we find ourselves building our careers, being politically aware is simply an intelligent modus operandi.
Why are there guidelines for nurses?
Many guidelines exist to help nurses understand why they should get involved in the political process. By using these guidelines, nurses can evaluate issues and use a valid method to assess problems, plan for action , and evaluate the effectiveness and benefits of specific strategies.
What is political apathy in nursing?
Political apathy in the nursing profession can be attributed to numerous factors, including a perceived ethical conflict between professional values and political involvement, as well as a lack of strategy for political action. Differences in personal and professional ethics, ...
Why is nursing apathetic?
Political apathy in the nursing profession can be attributed to numerous factors, including a perceived ethical conflict between professional values and political involvement, as well as a lack of strategy for political action. Differences in personal and professional ethics, conflicting loyalties, and a negative image of politics create ethical ...
Why do nurses become political activists?
Kelly ( 2007) posits that nurses must become political activists to safeguard the profession from unhealthy policies, which can be channeled through politics and changes in public policy. Health reform has become largely polarized along political and partisan lines ( Keepnews, 2012 ). Hence, for nurses to influence such reforms, they must be both politically involved and politically skillful. In many countries, nurses constitute the largest workforce in the healthcare sector ( Juma et al., 2014; Shariff, 2014 ). As the largest group of healthcare providers, nurses are in a unique and very powerful position to serve as advocates for patients, communities, and the nursing profession, by leveraging their numbers to exert influence on healthcare policies ( Avolio, 2014; Vandenhouten et al., 2011 ).
Why are nurses important in health policy debates?
As such, they are witnesses to inadequacies and inequalities within the healthcare delivery system and have first-hand knowledge that can lend expertise to discussions on health policies. Nurses must be seen and heard in health policy debates. Nurses have the requisite education, experience, and legacy that will enable them to lead the world in addressing the social determinants of health, factors that have a dramatic impact on the health of populations ( Lathrop, 2013 ).
Why are nurses important?
Nurses have the requisite education, experience, and legacy that will enable them to lead the world in addressing the social determinants of health, factors that have a dramatic impact on the health of populations ( Lathrop, 2013 ).
What is political participation in nursing?
Political participation was defined as nurses’ involvement in activities considered to be political in nature ( Vandenhouten et al., 2011 ). These activities included 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.
Do nurses need to be politically active?
For close to four decades, many nursing scholars have called for the profession to develop a cadre of politically active nurses... There is consensus among nursing scholars, particularly those active in policy, politics, and nursing practice, that nurses need to be politically active ( Avolio, 2014; Juma, Edwards, & Spitzer, 2014; Kelly, 2007; Montalvo & Byrne, 2016; O’Rourke, Crawford, Morris, & Pulcini, 2017; Primomo & Bjorling, 2013; Vandenhouten, Malakar, Kubsch, Block, & Gallagher-Lepak, 2011 ). For close to four decades, many nursing scholars have called for the profession to develop a cadre of politically active nurses in order to compete for scarce resources ( Cramer, 2002 ). Scholars have presented various reasons as to why the call for nurses to be politically active is ethical and the right thing to do.
Do nurses get involved in politics?
...nurses are not generally apathetic towards political activities, yet they are limited in the extent to which they participate. This study has demonstrated that, while nurses may not get involved in political activities that require greater effort and sacrifice (known as high-intensity participation), they are highly involved when it comes to low-intensity forms of political participation such as registering to vote and voting in elections. It can, therefore, be concluded that nurses are not generally apathetic towards political activities, yet they are limited in the extent to which they participate. This limited participation does not augur well for the nursing profession because, as noted earlier, limited participation in political activities fails to give nurses the needed leverage to lobby for better policies and programs for the profession.#N#For nurses to advocate effectively for the profession and their clients, to be able to address the social determinants of health and to influence policy formulation at all levels, they must be active in the political process beyond voting. It is essential that they write more articles about nursing and health issues, become more active in the activities of their professional organizations, contribute financially to political initiatives and activities, and become more conversant with their elected officials. Future research in this area needs to focus on strategies that enhance the political efficacy and participation of nurses, so as to enhance their role to strengthen healthcare and the health of the patients they serve.
How can nurses get involved in politics?
At the state and federal level, nurses can get involved in policy and politics by joining a professional nursing organization. These organizations often have lobbyists that bring nursing issues to Capitol Hill. Nurses can also write their state representatives regarding healthcare policy. Nurses can undertake internships with elected officials ...
How can nurses become politically active?
Locally, nurses can become politically active by assuming leadership positions in the healthcare system or contacting elected officials about legislation affecting the industry. Nurses can obtain formal training in politics, become involved in city councils and committees, or even run for local office.
What does Oestberg say about nurses?
As Oestberg so succinctly points out, “If nurses don’t stand up for issues that are important to us, those with competing interests in healthcare may be the only ones whose voices are heard.”. By joining their voices together, American nurses can influence the policy and politics that affect healthcare.
Why do nurses get frustrated?
All too often, nurses become frustrated by policies affecting nursing practice, particularly when those policies are written by individuals with limited healthcare knowledge and experience. This frustration often leads to negativity, disillusionment, bitterness, and burn-out.
Why is nursing important?
Regardless of the multiple factors limiting the nursing profession’s potential impact on politics, the fact remains that nurses are vital to the development and implementation of healthcare policy. As the largest medical profession in the world, nurses should be leading the way in redesigning the healthcare system. But in order to do so, they will need to partner with members of other medical professions such as physicians. For this to happen, nurses must be skilled in patient care as well as in interdisciplinary teamwork, informatics and technology, implementing evidence-based practice, and quality improvement.
What does Marquis and Huston mean by politics?
Marquis and Huston define politics as “the art of using legitimate power wisely.”. The nursing profession has significant power to profoundly impact healthcare policy on a global scale. Additionally, the nurses of today are younger, more educated, and more diverse. They bring more energy, more ideas, and more ingenuity to the nursing profession.
Why is nursing limited?
There are several reasons for the limited nursing participation in policy and politics. Lack of awareness, inadequate skills, and little opportunity for involvement are just a few factors. Another barrier is the limited formal health care policy education in nursing. Time and resources are further obstacles to the nursing profession’s participation ...
How to advocate for nursing?
Here are some other tips and strategies: 1 Evidence-based practice is the gold standard for what we do. Evidence is also needed for nursing advocacy. Through research, gather a good base of evidence to present to decision makers about the changes you want to see. 1 Be aware of limitations in studies you're presenting because other interest groups may try to find flaws in the evidence. 2 2 Don't underestimate the power of personal experiences. Speaking to decision makers about personal stories puts a face and a story to an issue. Politicians also want to hear how legislative issues would affect their constituents. 3 Use your local and state resources or national nursing advocacy groups to gain an understanding of current issues and learn how you can become involved. Many specialty nursing organizations have policy experts available as resources to beginning nurse advocates. They can help with preparing written or oral statements for hearings and may accompany nurses to hearings at the local state house or even on Capitol Hill. 4 Network with other nurses to create a unified voice. Equally important, form a good working relationship with your elected representatives and their staff by first building credibility with them. 3 Working with your elected representatives on smaller nursing issues related to your experience builds credibility so they'll be more likely to turn to you when they're looking for resources for larger nursing issues.
How can a nurse become an advocate?
By knowing how the system works and which strategies can effectively influence policy , any nurse can become an advocate at the local, state, or federal level. You can make phone calls to elected representatives about bills under consideration, testify before committees, become involved in practice councils or boards at the workplace, and even run for elected office.
How to build credibility as a nurse?
Network with other nurses to create a unified voice. Equally important, form a good working relationship with your elected representatives and their staff by first building credibility with them. 3 Working with your elected representatives on smaller nursing issues related to your experience builds credibility so they'll be more likely to turn to you when they're looking for resources for larger nursing issues.
Why do you need an internship in nursing?
An internship with your local or state representative to work on health-related legislation helps you understand how the system works and gain networking contacts. Here are some other tips and strategies: Evidence-based practice is the gold standard for what we do. Evidence is also needed for nursing advocacy.
Do nurses spend more time with patients than other healthcare providers?
As direct caregivers, nurses spend more time with patients than healthcare providers in most other disciplines. So decision makers need to hear from nurses. If we don't stand up for the issues that are important to us, those with competing interests in healthcare may be the only ones whose voices are heard.
