Please respond to each colleague with substantial detail that provokes further discussion. Readily offers new interpretations of discussion material. Ideas are expressed clearly, concisely
Discussion Questions:
- How do the IOM reports connect to the concepts of agenda setting?
- What impedes or encourages Advanced Practice to become involved in the political processes. Reflect on this from a personal perspective.
Response 1: Angelica
1. As per Milstead (2022), agenda setting is “the process of moving a problem to the government’s attention so that different solutions can be considered by policymakers.” The IOM report founded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) entitled: The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health (2011), emphasizes the need to strengthen the role of nurses by allowing them to become partners and leaders in improving the delivery of care and the health care system. Together with the IOM, the RWJF created committees of professionals in business, academia, health care delivery, and health policy (IOM, 2011). They sought to bring visibility and credibility to these topics. This IOM report connects to the idea of agenda setting because the committees were highlighting an important problem that needed to be addressed. The key messages were laid out and fully discussed. Furthermore, solutions/recommendations were also presented during public forums to allow for additional input. The IOM report entitled: The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity (2021), relayed the important contributions of nursing to addressing social determinants of health and health equity in the United States. The committees created participated in town hall meetings in Seattle, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The committee upholds that nurses, at all levels, have a duty to work with other health professionals to address social determinants of health and help achieve health equity. Here, we see a connection to the idea of agenda setting as the committees brought their problems to the attention of officials so that a policy can be changed in favor of allowing nurses to practice to their fullest potential.
2. Advanced Practice Nurses are qualified experts in health policy planning and implementation because they are policy implementers, patient advocates, and healthcare consumers (Milstead, 2022). I think nurses are the best individuals to be involved in the political process because we see day-to-day what interventions work and what interventions fail. We are fierce advocators for our patients and only want to maintain their best interests; we do no harm. We can remain unprejudiced, and we are not influenced by other political issues that may be going on. We can see the bigger picture for the patient, the family, and the home life that may be affected by any policy. The best people to influence and create policies are the ones that use it often and can directly see the outcomes. If we did not believe in a policy, we wouldn’t be inclined to uphold it. Advanced Practice Nurses are impeded from becoming involved in the political process because we don’t have formal education on health care policies or how to truly influence them. I think we learn as we go in that we see something wrong, come up with a solution, and then bring it to the attention of someone above us. We also need support and funding to gather evidence to influence health care policy and furthermore the political processes. Our nursing societies need to have allotted funds for nursing specific research and to support those that go off to present the policies to stakeholders or the government. We also need to have a more united front regarding our licensure and our scope of practice. Like the registered nurse, the APN should be able to perform to their highest abilities in all states. The fact that each state has its own laws regulating what an APN can and cannot do is discouraging and impedes influence over policy. For example, if we pushed for a policy that worked well in one state, the APN in another state may not be able to use it because of the restrictions on their licensure in that particular state.
Response 2: Joanna
1) The Institute of Medicine (IOM) in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) created the report titled “The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health.” This report highlighted the role of nurses and their future in leading change and advancing health by improving their delivery and performance in healthcare. The report asserts the need for change to create a health care system that is patient centered, accessible and evidence based. The IOM recommends that nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training to promote academic progression (IOM, 2010). Ultimately the report envisions nurses as future leaders serving the goal of increasing the quality of patient care, experience, and health outcomes. According to Milstead (2022), agenda setting is the process of moving a problem to the attention of the government so that solutions can be considered. The IOM report connects to the concepts of agenda setting because nurses have the ability to influence the importance on topics of the public agenda.
2) Advanced practice nurses have the potential to profoundly influence policy and politics. They can play a valuable role in not only the implementation, but also the development of general and health policies, ultimately improving the delivery of healthcare and advocating for patient needs. Unfortunately, there are several factors that impede APRN’s from becoming involved in the political process. Some of these factors include lack of leadership, awareness, little opportunity for involvement, inadequate skills, insufficient knowledge of health system functions and limited policy education. More encouragement is needed to increase nurses’ participation and engagement in policymaking. Strategies like self and professional role empowerment through education, increasing awareness, and becoming a transformative leader, can boost nurses’ involvement in policymaking. Personally, I myself was reluctant to get involved in policymaking due to inexperience. Although I engaged in direct clinical practice, I guess I never took the the time to view issues faced through a socio‐political lens. I learned how easy it is get involved and engage in policy decisions that affect patient care. For example, becoming part of a state or national nurses association. Becoming a member of an organization is a good start to find out how to get politically involved. We as nurses, have the appropriate academic education and clinical expertise to serve as experts in sharing our knowledge with policymakers. Therefore, I think its important for continued support and encouragement for political activism since healthcare legislation ultimately affects us all.
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