Having a seat at the table gives nurses and other interested parties a voice in crucial and far-reaching conversations. government site. Who started this race to see who could make the most money at the expense of each American patient? NEW YEARS ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA STUDENT NURSES AND MIDWIVES (NANSNM). Tamale is Ghanas fourth largest city with a population of 360,579 people (World Population Review, 2019); it is the fastest-growing city in West Africa (Abaneh, 2019). Br J Community Nurs. J Nurs Regulation. Mr. Fuseini Abdul Ganiyuis is a Registered Nurse with a Master of Philosophy in Nursing Degree from the University of Ghana and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University for Development Studies, Ghana. Political apathy in the nursing profession can be attributed to numerous factors, including a lack of knowledge of the political process and public policy formation, feelings of powerlessness, and a perceived ethical conflict between professional values and political involvement. There are a few ways that RNs and APRNs can contribute to policy-making. Additionally, the city is host to three major hospitals and two educational facilities from which the study participants were drawn. They bring more vitality, ideas, and ingenuity to the nursing profession. In many countries, nurses constitute the largest workforce in the healthcare sector (Juma et al., 2014; Shariff, 2014). Reference Welliver, M. (2021, March 10). Budden JS, Moulton P, Harper KJ, Brunell ML, Smiley R. The 2015 national nursing workforce survey. One key objective of this study was to determine the extent to which nurses in Ghana are involved in political activities. BMC Nursing, 13(1), 1. : 10.1186/1472-6955-13-20, Vandenhouten, C. L., Malakar, C. L., Kubsch, S., Block, D. E., & Gallagher-Lepak, S. (2011). The demographic section contained questions about participant age, gender, professional rank, academic qualification, and area of nursing practice (whether clinical or education). From the hospital room to the courtroom, the policies passed in legislative sessions impact how we stay healthy, and how we choose and pay for care. Time and resources are further obstacles to the nursing profession's participation in politics (Welliver, 2021). There are several reasons for the limited nursing participation in policy and politics. Imagine youre on, Jeri Milstead is inducted into the ANA Hall of Fame.. Factors of Influence Methods . Nurses can also write their state representatives regarding healthcare policy. It is a matter of Profit over People due to the FOR PROFIT status of the industry due to Nixon. Data Management and AnalysisDuring the data collection process, questionnaires were kept in separate envelopes marked with the facility name to track the rate of retrieval from each facility. Your email address will not be published. Pamela, A. J., Edwards, N., & Spitzer, D. Kenyan nurses involvement in national policy development processes. Clearance was also obtained from the Institutional Review Board of Tamale Teaching Hospital, allowing the study to be conducted in this hospital. Other large groups of people living here include the Dagarbas, Mamprusis, and Akans. IFES Election Guide: Country of Ghana. The political factions leverage it to gain support for their views on how healthcare can be accessed, provided, and funded. Table 4. Consistent with the present study, Avolio (2014), in a study of Canadian nurses, reported that only 11.4% of nurses in her study had ever written a letter about health or a nursing issue for publication in a newspaper. Future research in this area needs to focus on strategies that enhance the political efficacy and participation of nurses, so as to enhance their role to strengthen healthcare and the health of the patients they serve. The personal costs of this reform could . :10.1177/1527154413489887, Montalvo, W., & Byrne, M. W. (2016). If one peer or group of nurses begin to do this and see change, then it can inspire more nurses to step forward and express their opinions and issues about policy changes in healthcare. However, despite this high membership in GRNMA, only a few of them showed an active interest in the activities of that association. The article I chose to summarize is from the Nurse Journal and discusses how politics impacted nurses and the shortage of nurses that has been an issue. This is an opportunity to recognise their safety critical role, to address the workforce crisis and to make nursing a career of choice once again. View all. Regardless of the multiple factors limiting the nursing professions potential impact on politics, the fact remains that nurses are vital to the development and implementation of healthcare policy. Source: https://www.emedevents.com/online-cme-courses/webcasts/oxygen-therapy-what-you-need-to-know-to-get-it-right-for-your-patients. The Evolving Roles Of Nurse Managers. https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2019/survival-skills-for-today-s-gynecologist-2019 This generally high level of political participation among residents of Tamale makes it an ideal setting to study political behavior among a group of people. Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. AAACN is committed through our mission and strategic plan to be the "Voice of Ambulatory Care Nursing." This is accomplished by providing members with the latest legislative news that affects ambulatory care nursing and by supporting and partnering with nursing colleagues to influence health care policy making. 2008 Nov;9(4):274-87. doi: 10.1177/1527154408319287. Political Practices of NursesNurses were generally not likely to actively support a candidate for elections.As a way of exploring additional dimensions of nurses level of political participation, practices that nurses usually engage in as forms of political activity were analyzed. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); *By submitting your e-mail, you are opting in to receiving information from Healthcom Media and Affiliates. When nurses influence the politics that improve the delivery of healthcare, they are ultimately advocating for their patients. According to the World Health Statistics Report, there are approximately 29 million nurses and midwives globally, with 3.9 million of those individuals in the United States. A similar trend of passive participation was observed among participants in terms of organizational participation A similar trend of passive participation was observed among participants in terms of organizational participation, that is nurses level of engagement within nursing organizations. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 14(1), 4147. At times it seems that everything is political in nature and perhaps most things are in the 21st century. nurses are not generally apathetic towards political activities, yet they are limited in the extent to which they participate. The role of health care coverage is . Ghana City Tamale. Whether you fill a seat on the local school board, sit on the governor's healthcare advisory council or mount a challenge against an incumbent U.S. senator who is no friend to nurses, you can have an appreciable impact on the world around you. The Cronbach's alpha for this adapted version was 0.82. Table 5. These findings reflect the general characteristics of the target population and the nursing population in Ghana as a whole, where the majority of nurses have a diploma as their highest qualification, and only a few nurses have masters degrees or doctoral degrees. Case Management Services to Meet the Complex Needs of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis in the CommunityThe Successes and Challenges of a Unique Program from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Concerning this objective, there were mixed findings from this study in that, although nurses agreed that politics should be of concern to nurses, only a small number of the nurses were found to be politically astute. Table 2. :10.1177/1527154413490566, Kelly, K. (2007). A Fundamental Conflict of Visions Robert E. Moffit, PhD: Today, we are going to address proposals to replace America's current health care arrangements with a national a "single-payer . The nursing shortage is only predicted to worsen. Katie Pearce. In what looked like a reverse of this question, nurses were asked to state their agreement or disagreement with the statement: Politics is not the concern of nurses. In their responses, 79% either disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement, again saying that politics is a concern of nurses. When nurses were asked how important it is for nurses to know about political issues, 80% said it was very important. Nursing influences health care policy through a nurse's daily role in health care delivery. This is probably because gaining membership of the GRNMA is a very passive endeavor. 2022 American Nurses Association. Thanks for sharing this information. He worked as a clinical nurse for four years at the Tamale Teaching Hospital before beginning his teaching career, which has included teaching at the Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Kpembe, for four years, and also at the Midwifery Training College, Gushegu. It is a deliberate, logical, and rational problem solving process whereby the practice of nursing is performed systematically. [1][2] Nursing schools need to include healthcare policy education as part of the curriculum, as well as encourage some level of political involvement from nursing students. American Nurse. The Shortell Leadership Scale showed a similar effect, with a potential impact, for both scales, of up to a 53% decrease in the odds of intending to leave. Policy Polit Nurs Pract. This finding also supports the assertion of Boswell, Cannon, and Miller (2005) who described nurses apathy towards political participation as a pandemic. Ethical ConsiderationsThe study was conducted in five different institutions, specifically two district hospitals, one teaching hospital, and two nursing training schools. 7 Challenges of Nursing School that Student Nurses Will Face! New Legislation Affecting Nurses That You Need To Know by Aimee Laurence. Want to read all 4 pages? Background Nurses as the majority of the health care workforce help in the health systems strengthening. (2017). Professor Akwasi Kumi-Kyereme has been involved in various research projects and has published extensively in his major areas of research interest, namely sexual and reproductive health; social dimensions of health (including HIV, AIDS, and Tuberculosis); and healthcare financing. Since I am in nursing school at the moment, I can understand why new nurses would be overwhelmed to become involved in politics. From the foregoing discussion, we may conclude that nurses can be classified as voting specialists, based on the empirical typology of different modes of participation developed by Verba and Nie in 1972 (Whiteley & Seyd, 2002). Keith is also the co-host of RNFM Radio, a popular Internet radio station devoted to the nursing profession. Epub 2009 Feb 27. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. I have been eyeing this hospital for future employment opportunities. The major challenges included intra- and interprofessional power dynamics, marginalization of nurses in policy making, and nursing profession-specific challenges. Thank you for sharing your perspective on the many ways nurses can affect policies and politics. Instead, nurses should channel their frustrations into making a positive difference in their profession. On March 12, 2021, President Biden signed into law the major COVID relief package passed by Congress. Nurse managers, once called head nurses, traditionally supervise nursing staff in a single unit or whole department, oversee personnel and budgeting practices, and ensure communication between the staff and middle-upper management. High-intensity participation: The dynamics of party activism in Britian. As health is a devolved issue policy comparisons are made between the four regions of the UK. Nurses and other healthcare professionals must maintain a certain level of political awareness if they are to have an appropriate impact on legislation, regulation and other initiatives that affect healthcare or nursing. Jennifer J. Brokaw is a wound and ostomy specialist at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Florida. And which insurance company got the first taste of federal subsidies to implement HMOA73? Health policy, politics, and partisanship. As such, nurses have the potential to profoundly influence policy and politics on a global scale. The numerous clinical trials required for approval can take decades and cost up to one billion dollars. By the Grace of God, I passed when many others didnt and even passed State Boards becoming a licensed RN. Data Collection ProcedureAfter institutional approval, data collection was completed over a period of three weeks, from March 27 to April 14, 2017. According to Marquis and Huston, politics is "the art of wisely using legitimate power.". But in order to do so, they will need to partner with members of other medical professions such as physicians. For more information please follow the below link: All too often, nurses become frustrated by policies affecting nursing practice, particularly when those policies are written by individuals with limited healthcare knowledge and experience. I, myself, am a nursing student currently, and in the undergraduate classes we do not have classes on health policy or management, which looks at different topics in healthcare and regulations and policies. Nurses were generally not likely to actively support a candidate for elections. As officers in state nursing organizations, nurse practitioners can directly influence policies that relate to both scope of practice and education standards." Local Health Policy - On the local level, nurses "have a unique advantage in recommending guidelines for community-wide, school, and even environmental health issues. Nursing - Nursing being a part of policy-making is essential to the well-being of the public and ultimately the survival of our healthcare system Leave a Comment / By Dr. Tammi / February 14, 2023 February 14, 2023 : 10.1155/2016/3975634, ORourke, N. C., Crawford, S. L., Morris, N. S., & Pulcini, J. Journal of Professional Nursing, 21(1), 5-8. doi:10.1016/j.profnurs.2004.11.005. Nurses must be seen and heard in health policy debates. Here is some of the major new nursing legislation on the agenda . This is the first narrative review of this scope on the topic and adds to the current scholarship on changing our language to be more person centered and . Secondary reasons for my decision to pursue nursing include traveling the world, enjoying the respect bestowed upon the nursing profession, and . (2019). 235-245. doi: 10.1016/j.profnurs.2015.10.010 Woodward, B., Smart, D. & Benevides-Vaello, S. (2016). I have learned to become more involved and how to have a voice with policies at my hospital even if it is on a smaller level. I do agree that many nurses become frustrated with the policies that they have to follow which can lead to burnout, which ultimately leads to a shortage of nurses. 54-61 . Hence, for nurses to influence such reforms, they must be both politically involved and politically skillful. We will be leading teams and working in many different settings, using . He worked as a clinical nurse for four years at the Tamale Teaching Hospital before beginning his teaching career, which has included teaching at the Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Kpembe, for four years, and also at the Midwifery Training College, Gushegu. He has mentored and supervised students in nursing and in the health and has published many articles and authored four books. In an age when more women and people of color are running for office, perhaps it's also time for nurses to step into their own power and run for something they believe in. Population and SampleThe study population included nurses working in three hospitals and two nursing training schools. With the use of health policy examples, the implications for nursing are explained and ideas on how policy is implemented in practice set out. Nurses' involvement in health policy making is clear; however, still few are involved in policy-making processes, even in the clinical context. but the profession has not yet realized its 'potential to pro-foundly inuence policy and politics on a global scale' even though it is the 'moral and professional obligation of nurses to be engaged in legislation that impacts their patients' (Rakow 2016). 2023 HealthCom Media All rights reserved. The large majority of the participants were either totally politically unaware or only slightly aware of the implications of politics for nursing. There is consensus among nursing scholars, particularly those active in policy, politics, and nursing practice, that nurses need to be politically active (Avolio, 2014; Juma, Edwards, & Spitzer, 2014; Kelly, 2007; Montalvo & Byrne, 2016; ORourke, Crawford, Morris, & Pulcini, 2017; Primomo & Bjorling, 2013; Vandenhouten, Malakar, Kubsch, Block, & Gallagher-Lepak, 2011). Keywords: https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol24No02PPT63. Thus, we can choose to be a part of the conversation or simply watch the world change around us without our voice being heard. The .gov means its official. Families and friends of nurses need to encourage political activism. 2016;7(1): s1-s92. This bill included record investments in the nursing workforce. 2) stated, "lack of awareness, inadequate skills, little opportunity for involvement limited formal health care policy education in nursing time and resource are further obstacles to the nursing profession's participation in politics." With nursing being one of the largest medical professions in the world, we should be leading . Politics impacts lives. 1.Medicare for All: Medicare for All is a proposed healthcare reform that aims to provide universal healthcare coverage to all citizens and residents of the United States. Political participation of registered nurses. : 10.1177/1527154411425189, Whitehead, D. (2010). It may not be for everyone, but it is one of many ways for nurses to assume important positions of power and influence. He serves as an Assistant Lecturer at the Department of Nursing, School of Allied Health, University for Development Studies, where he also doubles as the examination officer for the department. When we healthcare professionals take our role as patient advocates seriously, we can be greatly disturbed by political machinations that appear determined to undermine public health, hobble patient safety, blatantly ignore the medical evidence base or otherwise thwart what we as healers attempt to do every time we earnestly show up for work. Kelly (2007) posits that nurses must become political activists to safeguard the profession from unhealthy policies, which can be channeled through politics and changes in public policy. A period of one week was allowed for consenting participants to complete the survey. The emotional and physical demands of caring for others place another burden on nurses. This descriptive, cross-sectional study design included a survey of nurses. (2016) noted that nurses were generally unable to make financial contributions to political organizations as a result of low-income earnings. FYS 100/102 First Year Seminar (specific to HP Clinically based programs) 3 credit hours MAT 111 Critical Thinking and Problem Solving in Math (QF) 3 credit hours BIO 150/151 Molecular Biology 4 credit hours; Foundations Course - Global Citizenship 3 credit hours; Foundations Course - American Citizenship 3 credit hours MeSH Political advocacy: Beliefs and practices of registered nurses. Previous studies about nurse participation in political activities have also reported high voter turn-outs among the nursing population (Ahoya, Abhichartibuttra, & Wichaikhum, 2016; Avolio, 2014). The extent of involvement was inadequate, and nurses mainly worked as policy implementers rather than as policy developers. In fact, it is the moral and professional obligation of nurses to be engaged in legislation that impacts their patients. Nurse leaders can use their sphere of influence to shape policy within their organization and encourage nursing staff's health policy involvement. When school nurse positions are defunded, that nursing specialty is politicized. In a study about political efficacy and political participation among nurses in Kenya, Ahoya et al. Being active and jointing a professional nursing organization, such s the ANA, is essential as these organizations have lobbyists that discuss nursing issues at Capital hill. currently make between 25and 75 MILLION each annually. Nursing is the largest medical profession in the world with about 240,000 nurses in Nigeria alone. Access 20 million homework answers, class notes, and study guides in our Notebank. Political Astuteness Inventory. Nursing has become one of the largest professions in the world, and as such, nurses have the potential to influence policy and politics on a global scale. He has supervised numerous research projects at the undergraduate, post-graduate, and doctoral levels, and provided supervisory guidance for the study reported in this article, from the conceptual stages to its very final stages. #No.1 Nursing Educational Information Website in Nigeria, met for the dissemination of nursing and health related information to the concerned profession. The aging of nursing faculty will impact the capacity of nursing schools to educate sufficient numbers of registered nurses to meet future demand. 24, No. He serves as a faculty member of the Department of Paediatric Nursing Division of the Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives and a member of a select committee on the Accelerated Fellowship programme of the Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives. The section on political participation contained an adapted version of the Political Astuteness Inventory (PAI) developed by P. E. Clark (2008) and used with permission. As Oestberg states, As nurses, we need to think of policy as something we can influence, not just something that happens to us.. Cite This Essay. As a healthcare professional it is essential that you stay up to date with what is happening in Washington, as decisions made at governmental level impact upon the very way that we practice our professions. Eventually those jobs were outsourced so I obtained telephonic and virtual registered nurse positions but the ratios/case loads are just as bad and worse. Int Nurs Rev. (2016). In M. J. Clark (Ed), Community assessment reference guide for community health nursing: Advocacy for population health. And something as simple as exercising the right to vote can impact healthcare policy. : 10.1177/1527154413485901, Shariff, N. (2014). Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. Tamale is located in the Northern region of Ghana, in the Kingdom of Dagbong. 2009 Sep;17(6):698-706. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2008.00946.x. Medical Imaging Core Requirements Year 1. Politics and nurses both play a critical role in our daily lives, even in ways we were not aware. Our lives are never immune from politics. As such, nurses have the potential to p Nurses are the largest group of professionals in the health sector. During the third week, the remaining questionnaires were collected. Even a public health nurse may have influence on a local mayor, council member, judge or other elected official. Have systems (micro-, meso-, or macro- level) or population/aggregate focus. These are opinion pieces and are not peer reviewed. Learn how to influence policy and become a leader in today's changing health care environment. regards The majority of respondents (64.4%) were in the category of slightly aware of the implications of political activity for nursing. Due to its central location, Tamale serves as a hub for all administrative and commercial activities in the Northern region. Only a minute percentage (0.4%) were in the highest category of political participation. In spite of the overwhelming agreement that it is important for nurses to know about politics, and that politics should be a matter of concern to nurses, only 0.4% of the respondents were found to be concerned and knew much about political issues. https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2019/complex-cardiovascular-catheter-therapeutics-advanced-endovascular-and-coronary-intervention-global-summit-2019 Nursing leadership in addressing the social determinants of health. Yet, studies have shown that nurse participation in political activities remains low. Lack of awareness, inadequate skills, and little opportunity for involvement are just a few factors. https://www.emedevents.com/c/medical-conferences-2019/aesthetic-medicine-training-step-1-by-american-board-of-aesthetic-medicine-abam-mar-01-03-2019. Nursing's designation as a STEM profession is essential for the future of nursing. ANA exists to champion the nursing profession, and the essential role nurses play in improving health and health care for all. Nursing is also responsible for encouraging the health of individuals, families, and communities in medical and community settings. He is a Fellow of both the West African College of Nurses and the Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives and a Member of the Sigma Theta Tau International. Respiratory Therapists: Oxygen Therapy: What you need to know to get it right for your patients. Yet, studies have shown that nurse participation in political activities remains low. American Nurse. For this to happen, nurses must be skilled in patient care as well as in interdisciplinary teamwork, informatics and technology, implementing evidence-based practice, and quality improvement. A s the first waves of coronavirus cases swept across the U.S. in March, clinical nurse specialist Michelle Patch was transitioning into a full-time faculty role at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. CRNA Continuing Education Symposium and CRNA Anesthesia Seminars for Nurse Anesthetists.Palm Springs Oasis in the Desert 2019 Encore Symposium is organized by Encore Symposium and will be held from Feb 18 21, 2019 at Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa, Palm Springs, California,USA. nursing, profession that assumes responsibility for the continuous care of the sick, the injured, the disabled, and the dying. It also is the political, economic and financial capital of the Northern region. Politics can affect the role of a nurse and impact the career incredibly. This article defines what is meant by policy and what influences its development. ; John D. 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