Nurse Advocacy
Nurses are the largest group of healthcare professionals. They have the opportunity to make a positive impact in the healthcare system through advocacy. Advocacy generally refers to the act of supporting a given cause. It involves defending the interests of others, and pleading on their behalf (Martin & Zolnierek, 2020). Advocacy is an important pillar of nursing. It helps to improve the healthcare system for the delivery of quality healthcare services for patients. Nurses provide advocacy for patients, communities, policy change, nursing profession, and for themselves.
Nurses serve as advocates of patients at their workplaces. They ensure their safety, give them essential information, help them to make informed decisions, and protect their rights (Abbasinia et al., 2019). At the community level, nurses act as advocates of both patients and their families. They persuade community leaders and those who are in positions power to work on improving healthcare infrastructure, and allocating sufficient funds to the healthcare sector (Addario et al., 2018). The undertaking helps to ensure that community healthcare needs are met.
As advocates, nurses play an important role in promoting policy change. They participate in coalitions, follow legislative processes, and provide expert testimony essential for policy decisions (Staebler et al., 2017). Nurses also advocate for the nursing profession. They advocate for important improvements, and pursue advanced education that can enable them to promote change (Zolnierek, 2019). Nurses as well serve as advocates for themselves. They participate in healthcare forums, collaborate with nursing leaders in making decisions, and they mentor new nurses (Martin & Zolnierek, 2020). These efforts help to enhance positive work environments.
As a nurse, I have personally served as an advocate for myself and colleagues. Whenever nurse leaders at my workplace are making important decisions that are likely to have an impact on nursing practice, we feel that we need to be involved. I often represent nurses in meetings with the leaders. I try to give our views, opinions, and positions on various issues directly or indirectly affecting us. Such advocacy helps to promote collaboration, teamwork, and delivery of quality health services.
References:
Abbasinia, M., Ahmadi, F. & Kazemnejad, A. (2019). Patient Advocacy in Nursing: A Concept Analysis. Nursing Ethics, 27 (1). https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733019832950
Addario, B. J., Fadich, A., Fox, J., Krebs, L., Maskens, D., Oliver, K. Schwartz, E., Spurrier-Bernard, g. & Turnham, T. (2018). Patient Value: Perspectives from the Advocacy Community. Health Expectations, 21 (1): 57-63. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12628
Martin, E. & Zolnierek, C. ( 2020). Beyond the Nurse Practice Act: Making a Difference through Advocacy. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 25 (1).10.3912/OJIN.Vol25No01Man02
Staebler, S., Campbell, J., Cornelius, P., Fallin-Bennett, A., Fry-Bowers, E., Kung, Y. M., LaFevers, D. & Miller, J. (2017). Policy and Political Advocacy: Comparison Study of Nursing Faculty to Determine Current Practices, Perceptions, and Barriers to Teaching Health Policy. Journal of Professional Nursing, 33 (5): 350-355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2017.04.001
Zolnierek, C. (2019). It’s a Wrap! How Nurses Advocated for their Profession in the 86th Legislative Session. Texas Nursing, 93 (3): 8-9.
