Essay on Nurses: Influencing Politics Through Legislative Advocacy

Introduction

Nursing gets regarded as the world's most significant medical profession (Hill, 2017). In the United States alone, there are nearly four million practicing nurses (Hill, 2017). Therefore, nurses can influence policymaking and politics throughout the world. Nurses have the role of influencing policies that will have a helpful impression on their patients. The current paper is a reflection of legislative advocacy in nursing.

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How to Remain Politically Active

Joining Professional Nursing Organizations

Joining professional nursing organizations will enable me to remain politically active, and thus I will have the ability to advocate for change in my nursing profession. When I am a member of a nursing organization, I will stay updated on the laws affecting nurses as well as patients (Hill, 2017). I can also join the ANA organization at the state level. By doing so, I will get to know the legislations that are affecting the nurse profession at the state level. After knowing the laws, I will then be able to advocate for more regulations or recommend changes that can improve the profession.

Have Knowledge of My Elected Officials

It is essential for me to know the officials that represent us as nurses. By doing so, I will have the ability to get in touch with them. Once I get their contacts, including the emails, I can then express my opinions to them on some policies in nursing. I can also attend their meetings, and this will enable me to have a say on the policies and politics that affect nursing.

The Role of the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association

The PSNA leads, advocates, educates and connects with all registered nurses found in the commonwealth (PSNA, 2019). The PSNA plays politics that advocates issues affecting essential public policies. The goal of the PSNA is to advocate for things to get done for its members and the patients that it serves. Additionally, the body educates leaders in Pennsylvania with information that is usually well researched and one that includes facts (PSNA, 2019). The PSNA also assist policymakers in assessing the impact that the decisions they make on given policies have on the people that the body serves.

The PSNA also helps nurses with the tools required to enhance their professional skills and knowledge (PSNA, 2019). The body also serves nurses with educational materials, information, and relevant news that assist them in their careers. The PSNA also carries out the task of promoting essential changes in the nursing profession and also to the communities that the body serves.

Lessons Learned From Integrating With Legislatures

In my interaction with Kurt Masser, my state representative, I got away with some valuable information. One of the lessons I learned is about being decisive. Kurt Masser has the responsibility of supporting all the current nursing bills. Kurt taught me that to become a competent legislature; I need to make decisions and stand with them. The reason for this is that the people have trust in the choices that their leaders make. Kurt has made several decisions in his mandate as a leader, and one of them is deciding to support the current nursing bills.

Another lesson that I learned from Kurt is on being persuasive. According to him, leaders should push for what they believe in by becoming persuasive. A compelling leader usually makes the final decision on what he/she thinks is appropriate and should get done. Kurt has studied all the current nursing bills, and he feels that they are right, and it is the high time that they get implemented. The virtual of persuasiveness is a core value for every legislature.

References

Hill, B. (2017). Does the leadership style of modern matrons contribute to safer and more effective clinical services? Nursing Management, 24(1), 21-25. http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/30395/

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