Introduction

The nursing profession is one of the most prominent professions in the globe with about 4 million nurse practitioners in the U.S alone. The nurse population in the U.S alone is statistically significant to influence public healthcare policy changes and politics not only in the United States but also in the world. Furthermore, it’s a professional and moral obligation for nurses to get involved in the legislation of policies and laws that affect their patients. Again, when nurses advance politics that has bearing to healthcare and service delivery to patients, they are working towards the realization of overall healthcare objectives. Therefore nurses are obliged to directly participate and advocate for policies that benefit both patients and medical fraternity at large. Nevertheless, nurses have only had little or insignificant participation in healthcare delivery and policy change.

As an advanced nurse practitioner, I would like to join caucus and groups that actively participate in influencing healthcare policies in the country for the better. When nurses actively participate in organizations and push for healthcare reforms, the government responds by creating the conducive nursing environment. Again, as nurse leader practitioner I firmly believe most nurses who are members of some organizations that advance for healthcare change, do not fully dedicate towards this mission, and this is the reason despite the many organizations with nursing advocacy agenda no influence yet. Nurses also fear victimization and reprisal from government and affiliated medical agencies for their nursing, political activism. Other factors for failure to participate include lack of adequate resources and time to get involved in advocacy, lack of awareness and lack of mobilization and advocacy skills among nurses.Nurses require support to create policy changes in healthcare, and the support starts from families, community, institutions, etc. Nursing schools should establish a healthcare policy in their curriculum, and support some degree of political activism from nursing students. Lastly, employers of all levels should equip nurses with resources, opportunity and time to take part in healthcare policy activism.

References

Kunaviktikul, W. (2014): Moving towards the greater involvement of nurses in policy development. IntNurs Rev. 61(1), 1-2.

Milstead(2017): Health Policy and Politics. Jones & Bartlett Book, 6^th Edition.

Oestberg F. Policy and politics (2013): why nurses should get involved. Nursing. 42(12): 46-49.

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