The Nurse as an Advocate

The Nurse as an Advocate

Describe what you believe to be the drivers for each of the individual advocates. What factors led the individuals to become advocates?

Bethany Hall-Long is a nurse who became the first RN to be elected into the Delaware General Assembly. She was also the first healthcare professional to be elected into the Assembly. Hall is also the 26^th Lt. Governor of Delaware. She states in her article that she first gained interest in politics as she worked with the community’s underserved while completing her Master’s degree in the late 80s. She did her post-graduate degree in community health nursing. Hall had an interest in enhancing the available services to vulnerable persons in the community. She continues to advance issues that are particular to this category of persons. The said issues include economic development, education, criminal and social justice, land preservation, environment, and healthcare. As a faculty member at the University she taught, Hall said that while giving assignments to her students on the different health policies and public health, she witnessed that the Delaware General Assembly lacked expert health knowledge. This gap is what propelled her to seek to join the General Assembly (Mason et al., 2020).

In Alicia’s journey to the boardroom, she said she faced obstacles in gaining access to the Bronx community board meeting. She felt her right to attend these board meetings was violated. On the day she finally got accepted to attend the board meeting, she says that the board members appeared more interested in forming their political ideas based on the affiliations they had politically. At that moment it occurred to her that the voice of the community members would never be heard. After leaving the meeting feeling disappointed and perplexed, Alicia knew that she had to join and become a board member of the Bronx Community Assembly (Mason et al., 2020).

Discuss the challenges that each of the individuals identified in their writings.

In her writings, Hall points out that being a state legislature calls for dedication and commitment as it is time-consuming. She balances her family life and work life, which are very demanding. As a legislator, she spends her time on the state’s operating and capital budgets and also handles confirmations of the Senate. These activities should be completed by July 1^st of each year. As a Lt. Governor, she represents her constituent on task forces, public hearings, and committee meetings. Delaware is both rural and suburban and has several policy needs, including economic development, healthcare, education, transportation, smart growth, and addiction. Additionally, after a legislative day, Hall adds that she has to attend receptions sponsored by the interest groups and which provide members and lobbyists to review concerns and issues and highlight state programs and funding efforts. Hall attends several associations or civic meetings every evening after her district sessions. The meetings, as Hall says, are important in gathering input from the community, staying current on issues, and offering leadership on Delaware public policy. Hall summarizes by saying that it takes a lot of zeal, energy, and time and asserts that when nurses fail to speak up, then legislators will get information from other sources. Based on the health reforms and the push for a consensus in the nursing model, APNs are expected to take up a wider practice scope and need to engage in discussions on state-level policy Assembly (Mason et al., 2020).

Alicia notes that as a board officer and member, she needed to be capable of interacting with diverse community groups, appointed and elected policymakers, governmental agencies, non-governmental agencies, and community groups. Alicia also says that she always needs to be aware of issues and have data that supports requests for expensive projects and capital, understand public budgets, and be capable of interacting with financial experts in agencies within the city. To be an effective leader, Alicia needed to learn how to be good at conflict resolution, negotiation, and problem-solving while also speaking out and clearly articulating her stands on issues Assembly (Mason et al., 2020).

Rita added that the leadership skills that a person learns in the classroom and which are honed in the academic and clinical settings are the same skills that one needs to serve effectively on the commissions and boards. Rita states that it is simply a transfer of and translation to core leader skills in combination with a deep sense of expertise, experience, and commitment.

Linda pointed out that her role as the Academic Association and Student Lives Committee vice-chair has helped her learn about the issues that young professionals face and work with students to help them improve opportunities to give back to the community. Linda also adds that as a board member, each person is expected to make a yearly contribution to commit to corporate stewardship. Interestingly, Linda notes that boards are influenced by wealth and hence, proposes that board members should be from diverse backgrounds and not just from the elite and wealthy Assembly (Mason et al., 2020).

Analyze these drivers and challenges and compare them with your own experience to date as an advocate.

The current times are challenging for employment in the healthcare industry, which has been exacerbated by disease outbreaks such as COVID-19. Unprecedented changes in the healthcare system have brought about a major impact in practice settings. The changes can result in financial pressures, the uncertainty of the healthcare reform direction, regulatory agencies’ mandate to improve patient safety quality, technology advancement, looming workforce shortages, and patient populations’ changes. These changes impact the allocation of resources and hurt the working environment. However, opportunities can also be created by these forces for nurses. These forces include expanded opportunities for employment, greater voices for a healthcare policy for nurses, and an enhanced profession and nurse image.

According to Porter-O’Grady (2018), advocacy focuses on addressing issues and problems that need lasting solutions. The first step is the identification of the issues and the development of goals to address the same. A plan of action is the next step, where a timeline is established or the completion of each activity in support of the strategy. Most of the advocacy initiatives involve approaching the decision-makers requesting the same to address the issues. Before approaching the decision-makers, one needs to develop a compelling, compelling request and identify the right time and person to make the request. A sense of timing and patience is necessary for achieving a successful result. As an NP, I have learned that few victories are rarely attained on the first attempt. Most advocacy initiatives are accomplished through compromise, negotiations, and collaboration, which often calls for actions to be taken over time to achieve the desired outcome (Scott & Scott, 2020). For an issue to be resolved or a change to be facilitated, a nurse should be able to influence others to take action. As an NP, the need to be an effective advocate is necessary to build a case for the needed change and back the case with data and facts.

In what ways do you believe you can expand your advocacy skills within the next five years?

Engaging in organization-wide activities will offer me opportunities for advocacy on behalf of colleagues and the nursing profession. The organization I work for, similar to other organizations, conducts opinion or employee satisfaction surveys used in developing plans for the promotion of staff engagement. Although the time it takes for an employee to complete a survey is often very short, it can greatly improve the staff working conditions. A recommendation or comment will often focus on an issue that needs decision-makers’ attention. By encouraging staff under my leadership to be specific on the issues or potential solutions, the organization’s decision-makers will be able to address the concerns more appropriately. Also, I will make use of the employee forums or meetings in the town halls to raise awareness of nursing concerns. I will need to use good advocacy skills in utilizing these opportunities, including credible communication and promoting a sense of trust. As an advocate, I will take part in identifying issues, proposing appropriate solutions, and offering to get involved when possible. Also, I will be more involved in teaching new nurses and nurse students at the patient bedsides (Water, Ford, Spence, & Rasmussen, 2016). When students see me as a mentor and role model, they will get excited about the profession.

Modeling positive professional behavior and assisting new nurses and students in the profession is a form of advocacy. Providing guidance, such as when a novice performs a procedure for the first time, can be an advocacy for the patient and the novice. Additionally, I will take every opportunity to advocate for the profession whenever I get the opportunity and when someone asks me about my profession. Another opportunity for advocacy is through the promotion of public understanding of the role of nursing. Many people have no clear comprehension of the role of nurses beyond following physician instructions. The public needs to be educated that a nurse’s role also involves assessing, planning, and intervening in addressing healthcare issues. As a nurse, I can help portray the nursing profession more accurately by talking in a specific way about what I do, describing the work complexity, and explaining the clinical judgments that I make. Developing a 60 seconds speech that describes and shares the consequences when nurses are unavailable to attend to the concerns of patients or the complications will help me effectively respond to any advocacy opportunity during both work and out-of-work hours.

References

Mason, D. J., Gardner, D. B., Outlaw, F. H., & O’Grady, E. T. (2020). Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Porter-O’Grady, T. (2018). Leadership Advocacy. Nursing administration quarterly, 42(2), 115-122.

Scott, S. M., & Scott, P. A. (2020). Nursing, advocacy and public policy. Nursing Ethics, 0969733020961823.

Water, T., Ford, K., Spence, D., & Rasmussen, S. (2016). Patient advocacy by nurses–past, present and future. Contemporary Nurse, 52(6), 696-709.

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The Nurse as an Advocate

In a Microsoft Word document of 5-6 pages formatted in APA style, you will describe the advocacy process. Whether nurses are advocating for their patients, health care, and/or policies that improve people’s lives, the advocacy processes have commonalities that transcend the subject of their advocacy. There are also differences, although these differences may be more nuanced than obvious.

Review the following chapters from your course textbook:

• Taking Action: Nurse, Educator, and Legislator: My Journey to the Delaware Senate
• Taking Action: A Nurse in the Board Room

Respond to the following questions based on your readings:

The Nurse as an Advocate

1. Describe what you believe to be the drivers for each of the individual advocates.
   • What factors led the individuals to become advocates?
2. Discuss the challenges that each of the individuals identified in their writings.
3. Analyze these drivers and challenges and compare them with your own experience to date as an advocate.
4. In what ways do you believe you can expand your advocacy skills within the next five years?

On a separate references page, cite all sources using APA format. Helpful APA guides and resources are available in the South University Online Library. Below are guides that are located in the library and can be accessed and downloaded via the South University Online Citation Resources: APA Style page. The American Psychological Association website also provides detailed guidance on formatting, citations, and references at APA Style.

• APA Citation Helper
• APA Citations Quick Sheet
• APA-Style Formatting Guidelines for a Written Essay
• Basic Essay Template