response: | Nursing

Clinical Requirement:

dicuu.docx 1 Respond to the discussion post below by suggesting additional opportunities or recommendations for overcoming the challenges described by your colleagues. 200 word APA format, 2 intext citation, 2 references for each post. Post 1( liliana)  Nursing is a growing profession with strength in numbers and knowledge. According to Barzegar et al. (2020), the participation of nurses in developing health policies ensures safe, effective, accessible, and low-cost services. One way that a nurse or advanced practice nurse can actively participate in policy-making is by joining a professional organization. Advocacy is a building block of the nursing profession, and professional organizations are a gateway to getting involved as most organizations have their lobbyist who diligently work on improving health policies (Hogan, 2020). There are many different professional organizations that the nurse can join with other interests where the nurse can advocate for what they are passionate about. Some challenges that nurses can face include finding the time to invest in joining the organization's lobbying efforts and cost, as many of these organizations require membership fees. Some strategies to combat these barriers are to start getting involved at the local level of the organization's chapter as time allows and to participate in activities that do not require extra costs, such as phone calls or writing letters.       A second strategy is staying informed on health policies. It has been reported that often, when nurses are asked how they can affect health policy, many report that they need to be made aware of the process (Ellenbecker et al., 2017). Knowing how health policies significantly affect how healthcare is delivered can be very eye-opening to the importance of nurse input. Some challenges can be finding the time to stay informed on health policies or getting discouraged, as some policies take much time and effort to implement. Barzegar et al. (2020) note that increasing nursing knowledge and skills by holding retraining workshops to teach health policy-making knowledge and skills and developing incentives for nurses to provide constructive and insightful health policy-making suggestions can help get nurses involved. If nurses feel their involvement makes a significant difference, they are likelier to continue their attempts.      Since time is typically a huge barrier for many working RNs/APRNs to get involved in policy change, technology could be implemented to increase involvement in policy change. Nurses can sit on committees and join meetings remotely, even through their phones. Also, e-mails can be drafted and sent out in mass to promote awareness and increase involvement. Another strategy that could be beneficial is to develop mentorship programs, which could be done through professional organizations or employment institutions. The mentorship programs could have an experienced nurse teach a novice nurse how to get involved in policy change, thereby creating a pipeline of continued active supporters. Post 2 ( jose) Nurses are important and influential figures in the development of health policies. This role is basically due to the fact that nurses form the key figures in healthcare delivery and understand every aspect of healthcare services. Nurses understand the challenges faced by both providers and patients during service delivery thus making them important persons in the development of health policy (Hajizadeh et al., 2021). Therefore, the discussion is focused on providing the available opportunities for Registered Nurses (RNs) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) to actively take part in policymaking, examining the problems, potential solutions, and techniques for effective lobbying. Two opportunities for the RNS and APRNs to actively take part in policy making process  Professional organizations like the American Nurses Association offer more opportunities for nurses to influence policy. These organizations support reforms in the nursing field since they advocate for the overall health and well-being of the patients and nurses. The second opportunity is the place of employment. In this case, nurses can utilize their collective influence in their workplaces to advocate for establishing and implementing legislation helping with the protection of the patients and providers (Milstead & Short, 2019). Based on the Centers for Medicare Services (CMS) recommendations, nurses can lobby for policies that promote quality service delivery and equitable compensation under regulations such as the Equitable Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Challenges Presented by these Opportunities and How they can be Overcome  Despite these prospects, challenges remain, with a clear need for an enhanced understanding of available avenues and appropriate procedures for the implementation. There is lack of awareness regarding the availability and procedures for successful implementation of the policies. Addressing this requires improved education on policy-making processes, which will equip nurses with the skills needed to advocate for policy reforms effectively (Shaeffer and Haebler, 2019). Furthermore, resistance driven by fears of job insecurity among some nurses necessitates highlighting the need for unity, employment protection regulations, and coordination with key stakeholders, such as parliamentarians on health committees. Two Strategies to Make Better Advocate for or Communicate the present of the Opportunities  The approach towards addressing these issues requires senior nurses to help teach and raise awareness about joining professional organizations and actively participating in policy formulation processes. This advocacy helps to reduce resistance and build a communal understanding of the importance of pressing for policy changes (Shaeffer & Haebler, 2019). Therefore, it enables nurses to contribute to the growth of healthcare policies actively.