Please respond to the following

Part 1: Please respond with substantial detail that provokes further discussion. Readily offers new interpretations of discussion material. Ideas are expressed clearly, concisely

Discussion questions:

1. “Government regulation encourages nurses to practice to the full scope of their practice” Agree or disagree with this statement ad provide rationale for your viewpoint.

Chapter 8 discusses program outcomes andevaluation, a critical step in determining where success has been achieved, and where improvements need to be made.

2. How can ethical conflicts in policy and program evaluation and reporting be avoided or addressed?

3. Describe specific ways an advanced practice nurse can engage in program and policy evaluation efforts

Discussion response 1: Samantha

I agree with the statement of “government regulation encourages nurses to practice to the full scope of their practice.” Nurse Practice Acts are implemented and vary from state to state. The focus of Nurse Practice Acts is always the protection of the public safety, (Milstead, 2022). Nurses working within their scope not only protects public safety but also the nurse’s licensure and it is also mandatory for reimbursement purposes. “APRNs should be aware of regulations that mandate benefits or reimbursement policies and lobby for their inclusion as potential recipients of these benefits or funds,” (Milstead, 2022). According to New York State Law, “The practice of the profession of nursing as a registered professional nurse is defined as diagnosing and treating human responses to actual or potential health problems through such services as casefinding, health teaching, health counseling, and provision of care supportive to or restorative of life and well-being, and executing medical regimens prescribed by a licensed physician, dentist or other licensed health care provider legally authorized under this title and in accordance with the commissioner’s regulations,” (NYSED, 2023). New York State Law recently passed a bill allowing Nurse Practitioners full autonomy. This is a prime example of how the government does encourage nurses to practice to the full scope of their practice.

Ethical conflicts in policy and program evaluation can be avoided or addressed by relying on guidelines developed by a number of different professional organizations and the ANA Code of Ethics. Professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association (2010), the American Counseling Association (2014), the American Evaluation Association (2018), and the CDC (2020) have guidelines available to professionals that are currently practicing or developing policy or programs that are challenged with an ethical dilemma, (Milstead, 2022). The major themes presented in the guidelines include two principles: healthcare policy and programming should be beneficial to people while avoiding any harm and that the evaluation of programs should be fair and respectful, (Milstead, 2022). The ANA code of ethics developed provisions and applications for policy evaluation. The provisions include respect for human dignity, promote and advocate for and protect the rights, health, and safety of individuals, and advancement of profession through research, scholarly inquiry, professional standards development, and the generation of nursing and health policy, (Milstead, 2022).

“Program outcomes evaluation systematically investigates social intervention or program effectiveness adapted to the political and organizational environments seeking to inform social action to improve social conditions,” (Milstead, 2022). Advanced Practice Nurses can engage in program and policy efforts by not only joining but participating in professional organizations such as the ANA or at each state level organization. They also can choose to serve on boards such as the Board of Nursing or attend an open board meeting. “The Nurses on Boards Coalition (NoBC) represents national nursing and other organizations working to build healthier communities in America by increasing nurses’ presence on corporate, health-related, and other boards, panels, and commissions,” (Milstead, 2022).

Discussion response 2: Joanna

1) The success of well-functioning health systems and the delivery of quality services is dependent on a competent and adequately trained workforce (Cassaiani et al., 2020). Government regulation oversees professional practice to prevent the risk of harm to the community if practiced by someone who is incompetent or unprepared (Cassaiani et al., 2020). It provides a framework that “guarantees competency, outlines scopes of practice, and promotes continued learning and professional development” (Cassiani et al., 2020) with the goal of ensuring the highest quality of care to the public. I would agree that government regulation encourages nurses to practice to the full scope of their practice because it protects and promotes professional integrity. Understanding how professional practice is regulated empowers nurses to advocate on behalf of the profession and their patients (Milstead, 2020). The nursing profession is regulated by a regulatory body that governs their scope of practice to ensure that qualified nurse professionals are practicing ethically and legally. It encourages nurses to practice to the full scope of their practice by providing a safe working environment and maximizing their capacity to maintain competent and safe nursing practice (Xue et al., 2018). Studies have shown that in countries lacking regulations governing scope of practice has led to job dissatisfaction and attrition (Cassiani et al., 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic is an example of where regulation influenced health professional scopes of practice by necessitating all professionals practice to their full scope in order to optimize the workforce that was in great need during this time. Nurses that practice to their full scope are legally protected by their state’s Scope of Practice, therefore, no employer policy, request, or procedures can ask a RN to step outside of their state’s scope of practice.

2) Good policy and program evaluation plans for the possibility of ethical conflicts and either develops strategies to avoid or address them as they arise (Milstead, 2020). Ethical standards outlined by nursing associations and professional organizations establish clear guidelines for program evaluation and strategies to avoid ethical conflicts. The central ethical concern in policy and program evaluation is that the evaluation should not cause harm to the participant or anyone else involved (Milstead, 2020). There is conflict between the right to know and the right to privacy. Therefore, strategies like providing informed consent and protecting participant privacy can be used to avoid ethical conflict. All participants who take part in an evaluation should do so willingly. They should be informed of the evaluation, its meaning, and be presented with the choice to participate or not (Milstead 2020). Informing participants of all implications of the evaluation process allows them to make an informed decision of whether or not they want to participate. Upholding HIPAA guidelines for example, protects participant privacy by protecting the confidentiality and anonymity of the participant (Milstead, 2020). Ensuring safety by protecting participant needs can also avoid ethical conflict in program evaluation. Other considerations include reporting negative effects, reducing the incidence of biased participants, involving stakeholders, selecting evaluation tools that are most suitable, and using evaluation protocol approaches that are culturally, politically, or socially appropriate.

3) Understanding policy and program evaluation encourages APRN’s to bring their perspective. APRN’s can engage in program and policy evaluation efforts in a number of ways. First, APRN’s can help interpret research for government representatives. Second, they can join a professional organization that is responsible for assisting in the collection and dissemination of evaluation data. APRN’s can also gather evidence-based data and research to contact their legislation regarding potential issues or concerns. Lastly, APRN’s can advocate for policy change or implementation based on evaluation discoveries.

Part 2: Using Chapter 9

https://gateway.ipfs.io/ipfs/bafykbzacecllbgkxgda7…

1. What data sets would be valuable in gaining knowledge related to the policy you choose? Discuss.

2. How does population based data be used to create community level health policy?

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