Post an explanation of how you anticipate enacting personal and professional commitment for advocacy to positively impact your patients, communities, and the profession. Be specific. Then, explain how your role as a DNP-prepared nurse contributes to advocacy for positive social change.
Advocacy in Nursing
DNP programs prepare nurses to advocate for both patients and the nursing profession (Bekemeier et al., 2021). As a DNP-prepared nurse, I am committed to engage in advocacy for individual patients and for vulnerable population groups that tend to experience poor health outcomes, especially racial and ethnic minorities. I am also committed to educating other people, including members of the community on the link between nursing and patient outcomes. I anticipate enacting my commitment for advocacy by joining professional associations that make significant impacts on patients, communities, and the nursing profession. I also look forward to having the opportunity to directly influence the development and implementation healthcare policies and programs that positively impact patients and the nursing profession.
DNP-prepared nurses play a critical role in advocating for positive social change. Beeber et al. (2019) explain that in clinical practice, DNP-prepared nurses can contribute to advocacy for social change by promoting patient safety, ensuring that patients are well-informed before making healthcare decisions, and assessing patients’ needs and helping them access resources that help meet these needs. In communities, DNP-prepared nurses can work with elected officials and community leaders to improve healthcare infrastructure and access to health education for all people. Rivaz et al. (2021) add that DNP-prepared nurses also learn about legislative processes and can lobby for healthcare policies that expand access to quality healthcare for all people. Nurses also need to advocate for themselves by addressing workplace concerns and the role of the profession within the healthcare system. DNP-prepared nurses are well-equipped to be members of key practice committees and to be part of employee forums that advance the interests of the profession. Additionally, DNP-prepared nurses can mentor new nurses to ensure continuity of the profession.
References
Beeber, A. S., Palmer, C., Waldrop, J., Lynn, M. R., & Jones, C. B. (2019). The role of doctor of nursing practice-prepared nurses in practice settings. Nursing Outlook, 67(4), 354–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2019.02.006
Bekemeier, B., Kuehnert, P., Zahner, S. J., Johnson, K. H., Kaneshiro, J., & Swider, S. M. (2021). A critical gap: Advanced practice nurses focused on the public’s health. Nursing Outlook, 69(5), 865–874. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2021.03.023
Rivaz, M., Shokrollahi, P., Setoodegan, E., & Sharif, F. (2021). Exploring the necessity of establishing a doctor of nursing practice program from experts’ views: A qualitative study. BMC Medical Education, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02758-w