NR 506 Week 8: Global Policy Reform
NR 506 Week 8: Global Policy Reform
NR 506 Week 8: Global Policy Reform
From reading the article, it reinforced the concept that simply having a policy in place does not mean it is being executed to its fullest potential (Kohl et al., 2016). Issues that are prevalent in one area of the world might not be common in another part of the world; this possibility will have to be considered when developing a global policy (Kohl et al., 2016). No matter the location, any action that a nurse takes must always be with the patient in mind. The nurse must evaluate aspects of the patient’s life that might make him different from the patient right next door with the same medical problem. As nurses we should be able to think on our feet and be flexible when it comes to our solutions for the patient. One treatment we might think is the best in reality might not be a suitable option for a particular patient.
From this course, I have learned the importance that nursing has in the political area. Nurses have a tendency to think they are just products of the system and are told what to do. On the contrary, nurses hold much more power than they realize. We are patient advocates, so we have a duty to change the system if we do not agree with it. We are problem solvers in our daily practice; this skill is vital for public policy. Through this course, I feel I have developed more confidence in feeling capable to speak to someone in policymaking or administration about an issue. We have a responsibility to ourselves and the people we care for to be lifelong learners, and I will try to implement this concept into my own practice one day. We are entrusted to give the patient the best possible care that we can provide. To accomplish this objective, we must strive to better our practice while always safeguarding the rights and integrity of our patients.
References
Kohl, H.W., Craig, C. L., Lambert, E.V., Inoue, S., Alkandari, J.R., Leetonngin, G., & Kahlmeier, K. (2012). The pandemic of physical inactivity: Global action for public health. The Lancet, 380(9838), 294-305. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60898-8.
One-to-one nursing provides direct services to patients in need, but one-to one direct nursing has little impact or influence on changing community healthcare goals or healthcare systems and policies. Thinking about community and population health needs calls for nurses to get involved with public policy advocacy. Public policy advocacy has more of a direct influence on implementing community healthcare goals and creating policies that benefit all patient groups.Nurses who train to become public policy health advocates put themselves in unique positions to take on roles as lobbyists for specific health causes, help draft legislation for a needed health policy, speak at conferences, become liaisons for coalitions, even start grass roots health policy organizations and join forces with more established organizations that advocate similar causes. Public policy advocacy is a great way to get community health issues heard on a grand scale to influence system change (Arabi, Rafii, Cheraghi, & Ghiyasvandian, 2014). However, public policy advocacy is not the best method to provide direct services to individual population members in need (Arabi et al., 2014). Only root causes of the issue will be addressed, such as reviewing the legality and constitutionality of laws and ordinances (Arabi et al., 2014). Both one-to-one nursing and public policy advocacy are effective in their own way.
Reference:
Arabi, A., Rafii, F., Cheraghi, M. A., & Ghiyasvandian, S. (2014). Nurses’ policy influence: A concept analysis. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 19(3), 315–322. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4061635/
As an advanced practice nurse, it is crucial that we have the ability to make informed decisions on nursing practices. Obtaining research and gaining knowledge about the topic is a crucial part of making these decisions. Many times, the research that is done is not necessarily the most recent or the best practice. We need to be sure that the research being done is the best available (Oxman, A. (2016). Patient outcomes depend on the current practices and can improve when we discover what has worked well and what has not worked well. In the article, there were multiple steps when gaining information about physical inactivity. First, activity must be measured and then a guide can be made. We then need to take a step back and decide what is needed to help this move forward. This goes for any topic. While researching about my policy issue, it took time to figure what the goal was and the steps to get there. It is a one step at a time kind of deal, which makes it much more difficult (Kohl et al, 2012).
When thinking about my upcoming practicums, I believe that this process will help me take a step back and think about the issues that we face in healthcare and also how we can help make change. I have learned that when finding a problem, research and communication can go a long way.
References
Kohl, H.W., Craig, C.L., Lambert, E.V., Inoue, S., Alkandari, J.R., Leetonngin, G. & Kahlmeier, K. (2012). The pandemic of physical inactivity: Global action for the public health. The Lancet, 380(9838), 294-305.
Oxman, A. (2016). GRADE evidence to decision frameworks: a systematic and transparent approach to making well informed healthcare choices. The bmj, 28(1), 353.
When considering guidelines for different patient populations, there should be guidelines based on different factors, such as: age, physical health, and current condition. My policy priority issue was childhood obesity so most of my research was based on a younger patient population. Older adults, age sixty-five an older need about two hours and thirty minutes of aerobic activity each week (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). This could include activities such as brisk walking and swimming. A patient with impaired physical health needs, such as rheumatoid arthritis may not be able to tolerate this amount of exercise do to physical limitations. Therefore, their health plan may need to be adjusted based on what they can tolerate comfortably. Maybe, swimming would be a better choice for them. An example of current conditional state would be pregnancy. Woman that exercise before they become pregnant can continue to exercise at their same prepregnant rate. But woman that are not conditioned to exercise before pregnancy should limit their exercise gradually and continue aerobic activities such as walking, yoga, or swimming (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.govLinks to an external site.