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There are several opportunities for Registered Nurses (RNs) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) to participate in policy-making actively. Nurses are well-versed in patient care and understand better what policies affect their patients. These opportunities to influence policy and decision-making offer a possibility to impact healthcare policies and decisions at a broader level. One such opportunity is becoming a member of professional organizations like the American Nurses Association (ANA) or other nursing specialty associations. As a member, organizations frequently have advocacy groups and policy committees that RNs and APRNs can enter to contribute their nursing expertise and experience to design healthcare policies. A second opportunity for RNs and APRNs includes getting involved in legislative initiatives or campaigns intended to promote healthcare reforms and policies (Eden et al., 2021). RNs and APRNs can get involved in grassroots advocacy actions, like reaching out to legislators, partaking in town hall meetings, and setting up community gatherings and events to increase awareness and understanding about crucial healthcare issues. In 2022, Nurses had a Million Nurses Match in Washington, DC. I was opportune to attend and learned a lot about how nurses can participate and influence policies affecting healthcare.
However, such opportunities may be challenged by narrow time and resources, lack of knowledge and understanding about the policy-making procedure or contending priorities in their area of practice (Hajizadeh et al., 2021). Nurses can contemplate working together with other healthcare professionals, assigning tasks to maximize efficiency, and seeking continuous education or training on healthcare policies and advocacy to alleviate the challenges. Strategies to excellently advocate for these opportunities, include nurses using social media platforms to boost understanding about the significance of nurses being involved in policymaking (Milstead et al., 2019). Nurses can also arrange workshops or conferences within their healthcare institutions to enlighten colleagues about paths to get interested in policy advocacy. By actively facilitating these opportunities and sharing success reports of more nurse-led policy initiatives, RNs and APRNs can encourage and motivate others to take more action and contribute to making a difference in reshaping and transforming healthcare policies.
References
Eden, L. M., Merrill, H., & Luthy, K. E. (2021). Empowering nurse practitioners to CHANGE health policy: Steps to successfully passing legislation in Utah. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 33(12), 1254–1260. https://doi.org/10.1097/JXX.0000000000000561.
Hajizadeh, A., Zamanzadeh, V., Kakemam, E., Bahreini, R., & Khodayari-Zarnaq, R. (2021). Factors influencing nurses participation in the health policy-making process: a systematic review. BMC nursing, 20(1), 128. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00648-6.
Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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