The past eight weeks in Health Policy have expanded my view on potential uses for my Doctor of Nursing Practice achievement. I envision making a social impact and speaking from a position of authority as a healthcare professional. I plan to be more involved in my community efforts to improve health equity for aggregates and populations, not just those under my primary care. Nursing compels holistic vision and actions. I see social determinants of health as the primary actionable component that nurses can advocate and improve for our neighbors. To improve health equity, communities must manage food insecurity, illiteracy, poverty, housing insecurity, and other social issues that limit wellness (Borras & Mohamed, 2020).
The power of plurality to effect change has impressed me. I am more aware of the collective strength of organizations and plan to leverage professional memberships and community participation to improve health outcomes. I have learned how to prepare with groups and to submit organized ideas to those in power professionally. I already belong to several nursing organizations and support their political action committees and letter-writing efforts. I plan to learn more about them so that I can hold an office.
Nurses represent a significant slice of healthcare and should have a voice in policy to match our scope (Graystone, 2019). Initiatives such as Nurses on Boards and the National Nurse Campaign advance the nursing viewpoint by nursing leaders in policy negotiations. Sagar (2021) reports about 10.1k nurses on boards as of April 2021 out of over four million nurses in the U.S. I fully support this cohesive action, yet it seems that the bills for National Nurse have been stagnant since March 2019 (Congress.gov, n.d.). Being on an organizational board sounds interesting, primarily since I already volunteer for our local food bank. I will see if there is room for me on that board or another local organization serving marginalized members of my community, possibly through United Way. Hopefully, teams will welcome my healthcare expertise! My Tweet is #NursesMakePolicyToo! Advance Nurses on Boards and National Nurse Campaign! Reduce Health Disparities About – Nurses on Boards Coalition (Links to an external site.)
References
Borras, A. M., & Mohamed, F. A. (2020). Health Inequities and the Shifting Paradigms of Food Security, Food Insecurity, and Food Sovereignty. International Journal of Health Services, 50(3), 299–313. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020731420913184 (Links to an external site.)
Committees – H.R.1597 – 116th Congress (2019-2020): National Nurse Act of 2019. (2019, March 8). https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1597/committees (Links to an external site.)
Graystone, R. (2019). Nurses on Boards. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 49 (3), 111-112.
https://doi.org/ 10.1097/NNA.0000000000000720.
Sagar, P. (2021). Nurses on Boards. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 32 (5), 630. https://doi.org/10.1177/10436596211021491.
I NEED A COMMENT FOR THIS DISCUSSION BOARD WITH AT LEAST WITH 3 PARAGRAPHS AND USE 3 SOURCES NO LATER THAN 5 YEARS
