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Role of the Professional Nurse in Healthcare Policy

Iyke Uche

St Thomas University

NUR 415: Health Care Issues

Henriquez Lisbet

November 20, 2022

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Role of the Professional Nurse in Healthcare Policy

Digital technology powered by information technology in the 21st century has brought about

drastic changes across all industries in modern society. The healthcare industries are no

exception to these changes, and key players in the healthcare industry are calling for more vital

roles for nurses to be more involved in leadership, advocacy, and policymaking. The importance

of leadership and health policy training is worth advocating. However, nurses' widespread

education and training in policymaking remain a noble vision. Moving nurses from being the

recipients and implementers of health policy decisions to being leaders with a strong voice in the

development or reform of policy will take concerted, strategic effort into the future. Studies show

that nurses worldwide have their place at the decision-making level by contributing to policy,

health reform, and advocacy. There should be a promotion of life-long learning for all nurses

through formal advanced education, continuing education, and other learning opportunities by

including nurses on boards, organizations, associations, and commissions that affect policy (Ohio

Nurses Association Health Policy Platform, 2017). Every healthcare setting should organize a

leadership program to provide nurses with access to well-thought-out policy training programs.

The access to the leadership training program will cover a wide range of leadership skills by

exposing nurses to policy knowledge acquisition through advanced education and other

continuing education opportunities.

Nursing remains the largest in the medical profession, which gives them the power to

influence policymaking in the healthcare industry, among the many roles of Professional nurses

in policy formulation. Nurses are significant stakeholders in the healthcare industry and are

likely to be given critical roles due to their number and work in primary healthcare. Nurses must
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ensure that they are the primary advocacy voice for their patients. The nurse's influence on the

healthcare policy came from their daily role in providing healthcare services to individuals and

their communities. Through interaction with patients, nurses have a more comprehensive view of

the health issues in their community. The hospital records show nurses the diseases that most

affect the community's health and the causes of lack and unequal access to health care.

Unemployment is noted in recent studies as one of the significant causes of disparity in accessing

health care. Nurses can help reduce their community unemployment by advocating that

government allocate enough resources to educational facilities. Some other factors affecting

equal access to community health services are language barriers, level of education, and high-

paying job opportunities. Nurses can assist disadvantaged communities by working with families

and community leaders to provide healthcare services accessible to diverse communities. In

addition, in addressing the causes of diseases, death, and disability in the community, we should

promote a safe community environment, nutrition, and trade school to address unemployment.

The nurse should also advocate for women's health programs, especially for pregnant women,

newborns, and children. Government agencies should also consult a nurse on policy and

regulation issues because of nurses' proximity to patients and community healthcare services.

Nurses play a vital role in the evolution of the health care system, which calls for nurses

to assume a leadership role and, at the time, requires nurses to acquire policymaking skills.

Nurses with educational training should promote values and ethics that sets the nursing

profession apart in the healthcare industries and work to expand their role in healthcare policy

development and those who make decisions on the distribution of community resources. Their

association with policymakers may lead to health policies that ensure affordability and access to

high-quality, safe healthcare services. Studies show that nurses with higher education are elected
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at different levels to engage in health policy development. Professional nurses must acquire up-

to-date leadership skills required in health policy development through strategic collaboration

with complementary healthcare industry sectors. In addition, every healthcare policy or agenda

must reflect the nurses' passion for providing healthcare services to communities, families,

women, and children. However, nurses should continue to seek advanced studies in nursing

education to ensure that nurses' voices are relevant at every level of healthcare policymaking.

Why not! Because health policies are evidence based on clinical research and theories. Nurses

play a leadership role when they organize and mobilize community healthcare programs that

target the most vulnerable populations. Nurses in leadership roles are an essential

Nurses play a significant role in developing and formulating healthcare policy through

collaboration with others in the industry. Florence Nightingale's work prepared nurses to develop

an evidence-based practice that influences nurses' role in healthcare policies. Nurses play a vital

role in promoting universal access to quality care. Nurses use effective communication to

demonstrate the nursing process of planning evaluation, diagnosis, implementation, and

assessment to educate legislators and make policy.

Nurses must perceive themselves as an essential profession within the healthcare team to

be influential. They must perceive their position as vital to the quality delivery to the patient and

guard through active contribution to healthcare programs. However, this point does not end at

mere perception; healthcare organization has to formulate policies that recognize the contribution

of nurses in various organizational programs. The nursing workforce is the face of health care,

and nurses play a vital role in promoting and implementing public health policy. Nurses undergo

rigorous training and develop evidenced based knowledge and skills essential to be included in
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the policymaking and decision-making spaces. For instance, nurses receive extensive healthcare

training and skill development in disease treatment, management and prevention, and health and

wellness promotion (Morone et al., 2022). Through proper recognition, the nurses can actively

take their role in ensuring patient safety is one of their top priorities. This talk does not end with

the nurses. The process of policy formulation should be all-inclusive. There should be rules that

direct participation before the formulators reach the policy details. As nurse advocates, the

nurses will always consider the patients first in any decision within the healthcare scope. To

become better advocates, nurses must strengthen their political knowledge via special education

programs. Sensitization is vital, so the nurses are more aware of the patient's rights. There are

various programs that the nurse leadership organizations should channel down to individual

nurses to undertake to increase their political knowledge.

Nurses must participate in evidence-based practice and research, seek advanced

education, and develop collaborative governance. The history of nursing is anchored in nurses'

engagement in public health and advocating policy changes. However, recent studies highlight

how nurses are not functioning in the capacity they should as an advocate in promoting safety

and health equity in their communities (Harris et al., 2022). The accountability process should

start with the interviewing process, during which the interview team and manager need to

establish the expectations for nurses' participation in mutual decision-making that affect the tasks

accomplished in the unit. In addition, the management needs to consider encouraging

multidisciplinary participation in health policy. When there is a problem in a given unit or

department, the multidisciplinary team addresses the concern, thereby increasing collaboration

among nurses. The key to maintaining a unit action plan is to stay on task, which needs a

reasonable time frame and follow-up. To address healthcare policy challenges, nurses need to
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work as a team. The policymaking process is a tasking exercise and calls for the hard work of all

nurses working together. The nursing workforce must speak one language when formulating

policies affecting their work. The best way to enhance collaboration is to create active groups.

The nurse administrators can create interdisciplinary participation groups within the

organization, which are primary deliberation groups on the areas within the work environment

that review feedback and make changes where necessary. Members of such groups will work

with nurses on the ground to elicit the policies needed.

Nurse professionals need to increase their publications, which expose their views on

various healthcare issues. The information given through the mouthpiece of a nurse is very

comprehensive and should be separated to outline the patient's voice. Nurses should contribute to

relevant health journals to improve and create a positive image of nursing. Nurse professionals

have a considerable role in healthcare policymaking than any other industry professional.

However, nurses must take up the challenge to become more relevant in policymaking. Nurses

have the power to lead change. Working together, we can all advocate for access to quality,

affordable health care, optimal nurse staffing, and other policies that promote health and remove

barriers to health care for the broader community. It is what we do (Stevens, 2017). Nurses

should influence policymaking decisions regarding health concerns because nurses have much

information concerning patient care. Collaboration among nurses is essential to maintain their

position as advocates and leaders.

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References

Harris, O. O., Bialous, S. A., Muench, U., Chapman, S., & Dawson-Rose, C. (2022). Climate

Change, Public Health, Health Policy, and Nurses Training. American Journal of Public

Health, 112, S321–S327. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2022.306826. 

Morone, J. F., Tolentino, D. A., Aronowitz, S. V., & Siddiq, H. (2022). The COVID-19

Pandemic and the Push to Promote and Include Nurses in Public Health Policy. American

Journal of Public Health, 112, S231–S236. 

Ohio Nurses Association Health Policy Platform. (2017). Ohio Nurses Review, 92(5), 42

Stevens, C. J. (2017). PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE. Nurses in Health Policy: Are you

Involved? Arizona Nurse, 70(1), 3.