Why should I care about health policy issues

 

Healthcare policy issues goes deeper than just a healthcare setting, it starts with a person like you and I. It starts with a person’s job, family, and sadly their income and street address will play a key role in what type of care they receive. “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. (Mason, 2016)” As a nurse and a person who understands the struggle of the other side, “consumers and healthcare providers can benefit greatly from having nurses’ passion for holistic care, clinical insights and leadership influence on the policies that will help shape the resources that benefit the patient experience and our population’s health. (Sobolewsk, 2015)”

With the push for nurses to obtain a BSN as minimal educational requirements, with one of the main reasoning’s is to be able to take over the leadership role. While nurses should accept the push as a compliment to only better the profession as a whole.  They should take it one step further, and use the professional leadership skills that are second nature to many nurses and step up to make a difference in not only their profession, but their families live as well.  “Our nation is experiencing rapid change in healthcare delivery, and nurses can be the catalysts to making it more accessible and accountable, while emphasizing the importance of population health, from prevention to full rehabilitation,” explained Elizabeth Fildes, EdD, RN, CNE, CARN-AP, APHN-BC, DACACD, a professor in Chamberlain’s MSN Healthcare Policy Specialty Track”(Sobolewsk, 2015).

 

 

References

Mason, G. O. (2016). Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care. Missouri: Elsevier .

Sobolewsk, N. E. (2015). Every Voice Counts: Influencing Healthcare Policy in Nursing. Retrieved from http://chamberlain.edu/magazine/articles/a-look-at-the-national-nurse-act