Political Competence in Nursing
In the nursing field, the term political competence refers to the values, perspectives, and skills required for the effective political participation of nurses. Typically, political competence is necessary within the nursing profession to allow nurses to intercede efficiently in a culturally diverse community and intervene in the broadest environmental and socioeconomic determinants of health. Political competence is also requisite in the nursing profession to permit nurses to bring close the nursing practice values to policy discussions and allow nurses to partner with other professionals in developing an ethical healthcare system (Benton, Maaitah, & Gharaibeh, 2016). Overall, the term political competence refers to the aptitude of nurses to acknowledge what they can and cannot regulate when to spring into action, predict who will most likely resist their ideas, and decide whom to involve in pushing the anticipated agenda forward.
Despite the countless factors that limit the nurse’s involvement in politics, there is no disputing the fact that nurses play a key role in shaping, developing, and implementing healthcare policies that benefit the general public. Nurses have the capacity to influence politics and policies at federal, state, and local levels. For example, nurses can locally become politically engaged by occupying top leadership positions in leading healthcare organizations, such as insurance firms, hospitals, and so on (Turale & Kunaviktikul, 2019). As local leaders, nurses can contact their elected senators, governors, and congress representatives about laws affecting the nursing profession and the delivery of quality, safe, and cost-effective care to patients. More so, nurses can enroll in political courses and become actively engaged in committees and city councils or even vie for political positions. Finally, at the federal or state level, nurses can join professional organizations like the American Nurses Association. These institutions play a vital lobbying role by presenting issues raised to Congress.
References
Benton, D. C., Maaitah, R. A., & Gharaibeh, M. (2016). An integrative review of pursing policy and political competence. International Nursing Review, 64(1), 135-145.
Turale, S., & Kunaviktikul, W. (2019). The contribution of nurses to health policy and advocacy requires leaders to provide training and mentorship. International Nursing Review, 66(3), 302-304.
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Question
Political Competence in Nursing
Discussion Prompt
Define “political competence” and discuss at least one example of how a nurse leader has or could demonstrate political competence at the local, state or national level. The example may be from an organizational perspective or a political challenge.
Length: A minimum of 250 words, not including references
Citations: At least one high-level scholarly reference in APA from within the last 5 years