NUR/HCA 386 Nursing and Health Policy

NUR/HCA 386 Nursing and Health Policy

Module 7

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Health Policy Making, Political Activism/Advocacy, and Changes in the Health Care System

Required Readings and Sources

NUR and HCA Students

Abood, S. (January 31, 2007). “Influencing Health Care in the Legislative Arena”. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 12 No. 1, Manuscript 2. Available at:

http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume122007/No1Jan07/tpc32_216091.aspx

Leavitt, J. (2009). Leaders in health policy: A critical role for nursing. Available on blackboard.

Mechanic, D., & Reinhard, S. (2002). Contributions of nurses to health policy: Challenges and opportunities. Nursing and Health Policy Review, 1(1). Available at:

http://www.ana-leadershipinstitute.org/Main-Menu-Category/Resources/Articles/Contributions-of-Nurses-to-Health-Policy-Challenges-and-Opportunities.pdf

From Patient Advocate to Political Advocacy: AACN’s guide to understanding health care policy and politics. Available at:

http://www.aacn.nche.edu/government-affairs/AACNPolicyHandbook_2010.pdf

Kenty, D., Gosline, A., & Reitman, J. (2010). Public collaboration in Maine: When and

why it works. Maine Policy Review, 19(2), 14-31. Available at

http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1079&context=mpr

Topic Outline

Understand state and federal policy making
Recognize the diverse arena of political action and involvement and the role of health care professionals within it.
Analyze the utility and appropriateness political activism in the health care industry.
Appreciate the importance of nursing and health care professionals active involvement with the development of public policies.
Effecting policy change through patient education and patient advocacy

Objectives

Demonstrate political advocacy and activism in nursing and health care.
Participate in an advocacy activity, either in the workplace through policy development, or in the community.
Consider the roles of nurses in the advocacy process, and the roles of other professionals and health care consumers.
Consider how political activism/advocacy is carried out in our professional roles and responsibilities.

Submission of Assignments

Written assignments are to be prepared as Word documents. Submit your assignment in the corresponding assignment tab in the blackboard shell. Assignments are to be submitted by midnight on the due date. It is very important that the email subject line be properly labeled.

Module 7 has no Discussion Board posting attached, and the written assignment is worth 15 points.

Module Assignment: Use the questions below to guide your reading and reflection as you complete this module. Refer to the course syllabus for the evaluation criteria for grading, as well as for formatting your assignments. Please call or email me with any questions you may have as you complete the assignment.

How can nurses/health care professionals demonstrate political action both within and outside of the conventional political arena?

Think of ways in which you can increase your political power.

Consider how nurses/health care professionals can work together to reduce the impact of these issues and improve their political influence.

Which political issue(s) do you personally feel motivated to influence?

After reading the content for this module and with these questions in mind, you are required to complete the following assignment.

Political Activism/ Advocacy Personal Strategic Plan – develop a personal strategic plan to describe how you will become more politically active and serve as an advocate in the nursing and health policy arena. Consider the strategies described in the required readings. With this in mind, your personal strategic plan should include the following:
State your purpose as nurse/health care professional within your role, organization, community, state etc.
Identify your basic underlying core values and beliefs or principles
Briefly discuss your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis)
Develop goal(s) and objective(s) to enhance your own political activism/advocacy
Assess for available resources (personal, institutional, organizational, state, national)
Take action – outline the actions you will take to increase political activism/advocacy

Prepare a 2 – 3 page document that outlines these steps. You are not required to follow APA format however must cite appropriately via in-text citation and provide a reference page in APA format. The strategic plan can be written in outline form.

CONTENT OVERVIEW

Health and government intersect on many levels – though laws created by the federal and state legislative bodies, rulings within the judicial system, regulations drafted by federal and state agencies, and laws and measures that are put to public votes. Health care policy is shaped through a combination of all of these decision-making arenas at the local, state and federal level.

The legal system helps define the roles and responsibilities of different players in the health care system. For example, state and federal laws have been used to set the minimum standards that affect the provision of health care, the scope of health coverage, public program policy, consumer protections, as well as the regulation of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The judicial system also oversees and enforces malpractice compensation that help protect patients and doctors as well as policies that affect patient privacy and patient rights.

Political involvement and activism is critical in health care today. Not only must nurses/health care professionals understand their roles and responsibilities on a broader context, but also be able to understand nursing and health policy but they must also effectively navigate the political and government systems responsible for health policy. In response to this increasingly complex political arena, nurses must also obtain the tools, skills, and resources necessary to serve as active participants in the policy arena.