NURS 6050 Week 8 Assignment: Advocating for the Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation

As their names imply, the honeyguide bird and the honey badger both share an affinity for honey. Honeyguide birds specialize in finding beehives but struggle to access the honey within. Honey badgers are well-equipped to raid beehives but cannot always find them. However, these two honey-loving species have learned to collaborate on an effective means to meet their objectives. The honeyguide bird guides honey badgers to newly discovered hives. Once the honey badger has ransacked the hive, the honey guide bird safely enters to enjoy the leftover honey.

Much like honeyguide birds and honey badgers, nurses and health professionals from other specialty areas can—and should—collaborate to design effective programs. Nurses bring specialties to the table that make them natural partners to professionals with different specialties. When nurses take the requisite leadership in becoming involved throughout the healthcare system, these partnerships can better design and deliver highly effective programs that meet objectives.

In this Assignment, you will practice this type of leadership by advocating for a healthcare program. Equally as important, you will advocate for a collaborative role of the nurse in the design and implementation of this program. To do this, assume you are preparing to be interviewed by a professional organization/publication regarding your thoughts on the role of the nurse in the design and implementation of new healthcare programs.

To Prepare:

• Review the Resources and reflect on your thinking regarding the role of the nurse in the design and implementation of new healthcare programs.
• Select a healthcare program within your practice and consider the design and implementation of this program.
• Reflect on advocacy efforts and the role of the nurse in relation to healthcare program design and implementation.

The Assignment: (2–4 pages)

In a 2- to 4-page paper, create an interview transcript of your responses to the following interview questions:

• Tell us about a healthcare program, within your practice. What are the costs and projected outcomes of this program?
• Who is your target population?
• What is the role of the nurse in providing input for the design of this healthcare program? Can you provide examples?
• What is your role as an advocate for your target population for this healthcare program? Do you have input into design decisions? How else do you impact design?
• What is the role of the nurse in healthcare program implementation? How does this role vary between design and implementation of healthcare programs? Can you provide examples?
• Who are the members of a healthcare team that you believe are most needed to implement a program? Can you explain why?

NURS 6050 Week 8 Assignment: Advocating for the Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation SOLUTION

The Role of the RN and APRN in Policy-Making

Student’s Name

Institution Affiliation

Opportunities in Policy Making

RNs and APRNs have various opportunities that that can enable them to participate actively in policy making. Nurses are registered members of different professional organizations that enable to them to participate actively in policy making. Through enrollment to these organizations in different state jurisdictions enable to take part in policy making. Membership to organizations such as the American Nurses Association makes it possible for nurses to actively participate in policy making (McGuire ET AL., 2017). This is promoted by analyzing and reviewing the existing the health policies. These organizations offer the needed opportunity to assess the different aspects of the health policies and contribute in policy making that safeguards the interests of the RNs and APRNs, and ensure that these interests are in best interest of the patients by ensuring the quality of care is safeguarded.

Besides, the workplace environment provides the RNs and APRNs with another opportunity for policy making. Workplace presents an important opportunity for nurses that can utilize to deliver healthcare to their patients. Since healthcare workers have an influence in their workplace, they can use it to influence healthcare systems by promoting policy review related to healthcare delivery by focusing on policies that contribute to efficiency and improved performance in the workplace by ensuring healthcare standards expected by their patients are met (Nantsupawat et al., 2017). The workplace enables the nurses to advocate for policies that affect efficiency, thus an important opportunity which they use to influence policy change.

Challenges Presented

Despite these opportunities availing policy making role for nurses, there are also challenges that hinder full participation in policy making. One of the challenges is the difficulties that registering in professional organizations present to nurses, thus limit their participation in policy making (Lee, Hwang & Moon, 2020). Focusing on making the process efficient and brief would help reduce the complexity of the registration process. This would make the process for registering in nursing professional organizations simple. This should embark on reviewing the leadership to reduce inefficiencies associated with poor leadership to ensure responsibility and accountability.

Another challenge is presented by the workplace environment. To begin with workplace is faced with lack of cooperation and conflicts that make it hard for the RNs and APRNs to remain united when advocating for a policy change. Such problems can be overcome if there is goodwill among the nurses to work as a team and cooperate when advocating for change. Teamwork should be promoted by ensuring that nurses speak in one voice when reviewing policy change aimed at promotion of quality within the work place. Another challenge can emanate from poor leadership, which might present a hurdle for nurses’ participation in policy making. This can come in form of poor work environment that support nurses dynamism and participation in policy process. Leaders can turn to a more inclusive policy review process so that nurses can participate comfortably.

Strategy Recommendation

To promote policy making among the nurses include proper training and promoting good leadership. Training enables the nurses to comprehend their roles and responsibilities. On the other hand, good leadership would advocate on making a better workplace environment that motivate the workers to participate in policy making process. Leadership also enables the nurses to openly share their views on how policies can be improved to promote efficiency within the workplace. Besides, good leadership presents an opportunity for nurses to register within professional organizations that which are critical in creating an opportunity to participate I policy review.

References

Lee, S., Hwang, C., & Moon, M. J. (2020). Policy learning and crisis policy-making: quadruple-loop learning and COVID-19 responses in South Korea. Policy and Society, 39(3), 363-381.

McGuire, M., Goldstein, C., Claywell, L., & Patton, R. (2017). Analysis of student reflections of experiential learning in nursing health policy courses. Nurse educator, 42(2), 95-99.

Nantsupawat, A., Kunaviktikul, W., Nantsupawat, R., Wichaikhum, O. A., Thienthong, H., & Poghosyan, L. (2017). Effects of nurse work environment on job dissatisfaction, burnout, intention to leave. International nursing review, 64(1), 91-98.

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