The Need for Nurses to Engage in Political Involvement

1933 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Importance of nursing in society

The Need for Nurses to Engage in Political Involvement

There has been a pandemic apathy towards political activism among the nursing fraternity, despite the fact that politics to a greater extent affects the way these medical practitioners carry out their duty of providing care. Nurses have not seen any reason for political involvement citing that no direct relationship exists between nursing and political activism (Boswell, Canon and Miller 5). They claim that nursing is about application and service, demonstration by involvement and more of ‘walking the walk’ rather than the political ‘talking the talk’ (Rains and Barton-Kriese 219). Political activism to them is a waste of the precious time that could be used to provide healthcare to the patients, in addition to being a barrier to the advancement of the nursing profession. Despite this naivety about political involvement, there is a great need for nurses to take part in political activism. This paper raises an argument in favor of nurses’ involvement in political activism.

The Problem

Nursing is the most powerful profession in the United States, given the fact that they can dictate how the direction of policy formation will go through their large numbers. In addition, their extensive knowledge of healthcare, which in itself is a technical profession that requires specific skills, places them at a greater position to influence the direction of the national policy. Regrettably, these professionals have left their political activism reins to other individuals who do not understand what healthcare is all about. The consequence of this is the passing of unfavorable healthcare policies that make the provision of healthcare even more difficult.

A good example is the present un...

... middle of paper ...

...est of the society that nurses embrace political activism.

Works Cited

Andrist, Linda, Patrice Nicholas and Karen Wolf. A History of Nursing Ideas. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2006. Print.

Bergen, Kathy. “Illinois Department of Revenue Denies Tax Exempts for 3 Hospitals.” Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune Mag., 17 Aug. 2011. Web. 4 Nov. 2011.

Boswell, Carol, Sharon Cannon and Joyce Miller. “Nurses’ Political Involvement: Responsibility Versus Privilege.” Journal of Professional Nursing 21.1 (2005): 5-8. Print.

Godfrey, William. The Struggle to Serve: A History of the Moncton Hospital, 1895 to 1953. Montreal, QC: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004. Print.

Rains, Joanne, and Paul Barton-Kriese. “Developing Political competence; A Comparative Study across Disciplines.” Public Health Nursing 18.4 (2001): 219-224. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Proactive Advocacy In Nursing

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nursing advocacy is a professional obligation and the standard of practice expected by the Ontario College of Nurses (CNO, 2009). The concept of advocacy is enshrined into the code of professional ethics that nurses “must promote the interests of clients in their care” (CNO 2009). To meet this standard the nurse must first ensure a deep understanding of advocacy and how it relates to the nursing profession. Advocacy in nursing is a concept that can be first seen in the early work of nursing theorist Florence Nightingale and her plight to protect the safety of patients through autonomous nursing actions (Goldie, 1987). Although the concept of advocacy had been presented in early nursing theory, the term “advocacy” had not been

    Read More

  • The Four Spheres Of Political Action In Nursing

    221 Words  | 1 Pages

    After reading the segment of your exposition on the four spheres of political action in nursing one particular detail drew my attention and that was that an organization is not strictly delineated as a facility we are employed by but also as a group of interest. With that in mind, it would be imperative to recognize numerous committees established in the VA to improve and regulate nursing care. For example, I have been part of Veterans' Education group which is focused on maintaining updated information resources available to patients as well as organizing beneficial events to disseminate vital information necessary for prevention and maintenance of wellness. Furthermore, I cannot omit the most valuable to my profession the Certified Diabetes

    Read More

  • Sentimental Women Need Not Apply: Movie Analysis

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    Presented issues such as lack of nursing opportunities for nursing graduates, lack of respect for the nursing profession and nurses being viewed as a threat by doctors continues to be of an existence today. As a nurse, I feel that it is of high importance to highlight these presented issues from the film not only because they were the most outstanding to me but because the nursing profession needs more

    Read More

  • Building an Improved Infrastructure for Collection & Analysis of Nursing Workforce

    1420 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tillett, J. (2011). Practicing to the full extent of our ability: The role Nurses in healthcare reform. The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing 25(2), 94-98. Doi: 10.1097/JPN.0b013e318217ed3c

    Read More

  • Achieving Magnet Status and Change

    1135 Words  | 3 Pages

    Chaffee, M., Leavitt, J., Mason, D. (2007). Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care. St. Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier.

    Read More

  • Ohio Prescriptive Privilege Update for the APRN: A Policy Analysis

    1892 Words  | 4 Pages

    Access to quality healthcare is a growing concern in the United States especially in light of healthcare reform coverage expansions made possible by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. It is estimated that 94% of all Americans will acquire healthcare coverage under the law, an increase of nearly 30 million people (King, 2011). This dramatic influx of patients into the healthcare system has projected to cause an immediate increase in added pressure on an already challenged healthcare workforce (King, 2011). Notably, at a time when healthcare demands are growing, graduate rates from medical schools remain unchanged while advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) graduate rates are rising (Cipher, Hooker, Guerra, 2006). The increased availability of APRNs, along with enhanced delivery of healthcare skills, gives the role a unique advantage in the current state of healthcare. These specialized advanced practice nurses provide services often at a patient’s first (and in some cases, primary) point of contact into the healthcare system (Brassard, 2013). Due to this, many states have started to take action to mitigate the increased healthcare system burden by enhancing the APRN’s scope of practice by broadening prescriptive authority. This has been shown to be one of the fundamental ethical avenues of increasing not only access to healthcare, but also efficiency and quality of care (Ross, 2012).

    Read More

  • Labor Unions for Nurses in the United States

    626 Words  | 2 Pages

    Having one voice in the workplace to fight for specific rights can only go so far, but the voice of many can have a dramatic impact on issues of safety, wages and hours to name a few. These are a few of the reasons many nurses have turned to joining a union. As a nurse, the number one c...

    Read More

  • Nurse Residency Programs: Making Practice Safer

    2247 Words  | 5 Pages

    Nurse Residency Programs are one way to make nursing practice safer for the patient and to keep nurses from leaving the practice. The Affordable Care Act will increase the number of patients receiving medical care over the next several years. We, as a nation, will need adequate numbers of nurses to fill the void. Many hospitals and universities are constructing nurse residency programs to meet that need. The designation of these programs is to increase knowledge, confidence and job satisfaction of new graduate nurses in their first year of practice. The AACN and University HealthSystem Consortium support the concept of nursing residencies. In 2004, an outline for nurse residency programs became available through their joint effort. Currently, 30 states are currently using the model successfully. The funding for nursing residencies is an area that needs addressing, federal funding for nursing education should include nursing residencies ("Nurse Residency Program," 2012). The purpose of this paper is to describe how this issue can move into a “policy window” using John Kingdon’s Policy Stream Model.

    Read More

  • Mid-Range Theory Of Patient Advocacy

    1174 Words  | 3 Pages

    Frequently, nurses are confronted with the task of finding the balance between advocating for the patient, and remaining loyal to their hospital or institution (Hanks, 2007). Risks that are associated with patient advocacy are more on the institutional level (Bu & Jezewski, 2007). Risks such as accusations of insubordination, reputation slander, hostile work environment, and loss of job security are among some of the top reasons nurses tend to shy away for patient advocacy (Bu & Jezewski, 2007). Another problem with advocacy is that there isn’t a universal definition as to what being an advocate means, along with inconsistency of interpretations (Bu & Jezewski,

    Read More

  • Role of Nurses in The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

    664 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stokowski, L RN, MS (2010) Healthcare Reform and Nurses: Challenges and Opportunities; Medscape News; Nursing Perspective. Retrieved September 16, 2011 from: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/721049

    Read More

  • The Future Of Nursing And Nursing Practice

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nurses are active, they see policies as what they can restructure or change, instead of taking it as what has been imposed on them. They are involved in policy development as well as working together as one profession. As nurses, they participating in decision making regarding health policies, as well as taking part in implementations associated with changes in health care. Currently, nurses are serving “on advisory committees, commissions, and boards” (Cohen, M. & Walker, A. 2010). Policies and decisions in these areas will help to advance patient care in health

    Read More

  • Role Of Dnp In Nursing

    501 Words  | 2 Pages

    Healthcare is viewed in an unrealistic way by most individuals. Many people view a physician as the only means to find a solution to their problem. Nurses are still seen by some as simply “the person who does what the doctor says.” This is frustrating in today’s time when nurses are required to spend years on their education to help care for their patients. In many situations nurses are the only advocate that some patients’ have.

    Read More

  • Nursing: The Development Of Professional Identity In Nursing

    1443 Words  | 3 Pages

    Introduction McCurry et all (2009/2010)?? ** state ‘Nursing as a profession has a social mandate to contribute to the good of society through knowledge-based practice.’ Acknowledging this statement and in recognition of the challenges faced in today’s healthcare system it is imperative that nurses know who they are as a profession. Without an explicit understanding of our identity as nurses and our role in society we have no worth or purpose other than to aid and promote the medical discipline (Newman et al., 2008).

    Read More

  • The Importance of Patient Advocacy

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Nursing, there will always be instances where the patient's nurse needs to advocate for their patient. There are numerous reasons why a nurse would advocate for their patient ranging from getting the doctor to change the patient’s orders, helping the patient’s treatment team understand what it is the patient is requiring for the day, to expressing the patient’s last wishes before death. In every situation, the nurse should do what is in the patient’s best interest. Tomajan (2012), “Advocacy skills are the ability to successfully support a cause or interest on one’s own behalf or that of another. Advocacy requires a set of skills that include problem solving, communication, influence, and collaboration”(p. 2). With those skills, the nursing staff will be able to work together to advocate for their patients. Along with those skills, nurses need to keep in mind the three core attributes that are: safeguarding patients’ autonomy; acting on behalf of patients; and championing social justice in the provision of health care. (Bu & Jezewski, 2006)

    Read More

  • The Future of Nursing

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Future of Nursing Being a registered nurse affords one the option of working in many diverse healthcare settings. In any practice setting, the climate of health care change is evident. There are diverse entities involved in the implementation and recommendation of these practice changes. These are led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), nursing campaign for action initiatives, as well as individual state-based action coalitions. Nurses need to be prepared and cognizant of the transformations occurring in health care settings, as well as the plans that put them at the forefront of the future.

    Read More

More about The Need for Nurses to Engage in Political Involvement

Open Document