Discussion: The Role Of The RN/APRN In Policy Evaluation
In the Module 4 Discussion, you considered how professional nurses can become involved in policy-making. A critical component of any policy design is evaluation of the results. How comfortable are you with the thought of becoming involved with such matters?
Some nurses may be hesitant to get involved with policy evaluation. The preference may be to focus on the care and well-being of their patients; some nurses may feel ill-equipped to enter the realm of policy and political activities. However, as you have examined previously, who better to advocate for patients and effective programs and polices than nurses? Already patient advocates in interactions with doctors and leadership, why not with government and regulatory agencies?
In this Discussion, you will reflect on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation.
To Prepare:
- In the Module 4 Discussion, you considered how professional nurses can become involved in policy-making.
- Review the Resources and reflect on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation.
By Day 3 of Week 9
Post an explanation of at least two opportunities that currently exist for RNs and APRNs to actively participate in policy review. Explain some of the challenges that these opportunities may present and describe how you might overcome these challenges. Finally, recommend two strategies you might make to better advocate for or communicate the existence of these opportunities. Be specific and provide examples.
Reply to the discussion (Taylor)-Needs 2 paragraph and at least 3 references
Policy Review in Nursing
Main Question Post- Nurses need to be a part of the policy review process to better their organizations and careers. Nurses can participate in policy review by joining a professional nursing organization. According to (Derouin 2019), professional organizations are “asked to assist with data collection and eventual dissemination of summative evaluation data” (p. 122). With nurses helping to gather data, they can participate in policy review by gathering information and knowledge to better a policy and evaluating the outcomes. Professional organizations are a great way to learn from others in your organization and get their opinion on policy review. Nurses can also participate in policy review by using evidence-based research and data to contact their legislation regarding health policy issues or concerns. During policy review, gathering reliable information and reflecting on it can help improve research and implement better policy. By presenting legislation with a concrete proposal to enhance policy, the review process will help improve any issues. Nurses will better understand the importance of policy review by being an active participant.
Challenges may arise when you mix nurses and policy review. When joining a professional organization, you may deal with the others’ opinions that you don’t quite agree upon. Professional organizations help build your networking team, but if your ideas and opinions don’t match others, it can make it difficult for you to build a strong team. According to Derouin (2019), a few challenges to health policy evaluation include lack of resources to complete assessment, lack of comparative results, and social media. Lack of resources could be a challenge, but joining a professional organization can provide you with many resources for a policy review. Lack of results could be a challenge, but engaging in evidence-based research can help you form a proposal to send to the legislature to improve policy review. With the upcoming presidential election, health policy has been discussed a lot on social media. Social media is a great way to discuss and learn the opinions of others. Using social media, Professional Nursing Organizations can share policy information amongst their members and followers (Waddell, 2018). Social media and ever-changing technology can help nursing challenges when participating in policy review, such as HIPPA violations. Policy evaluation “serves as the key to improving quality, safety, efficiency of clinical practice as well as assessing the impact of emerging innovations and science (Polit & Peck, 2012)” (Derouin, 2019, p. 118). Whether it’s through joining a professional organization, accessing social media, or using evidence-based research, nurses need to be active participants in policy review to better their profession, organization, and communities.
Strategies to communicate issues between nurses and policy review are essential. Gazarian et al. (2020) recommended the using research over how to put health policy into action to help determine ways to improve health care. One strategy to help with writing to the legislature regarding policy review would be to use writing resources, like Grammarly, to help with punctuation and plagiarism. Another approach when writing to legislation would be to research evidence-based data using reliable and credible databases. Nurses need to use evidence-based research to improve health policy as well as healthcare as a whole. The ability to search for reliable and up-to-date information will help you construct a solid proposal to present to the legislature. A strategy to advocate about joining professional organizations would be to reach out to fellow APRNs in your community. Communicate and see if they are involved in any professional organizations and persuade them to join with you. Banding together to work as a team will lead to success.