Political Engagement In Nursing

Nurses are the largest sector of the professional health care workforce, numbering more than 3 million nationwide (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). In the past five to ten years nurses have consistently ben ranked as the nations most trusted and respected profession (Gallup Organization 2014 annual poll; Porter-O’Grady & Malloch, 2011).They know as well as anyone when our system is broken, and they are in a key position to improve it. The combination of these things put nurses in a good position to use their strength collectively, their good reputation, and unique skillset to organize and push for change. Even with all these positive views of the nursing profession I think the real problem lies in the fact that nurses underestimate
A more influential role must be taken, participation in the political process is critical in changing laws that are doing more damage to the health care system than good. There are different methods that can be used to promote political engagement. For example, redefining the term “political engagement” could help with the “political block” that most people have. Sometimes just hearing the word politics can cause someone to avoid the topic. Many people note that the word politics has a stigma and negative connotation associated with it. This connotation prevents people from becoming involved in the process. Using more neutral terms, like "social activism" or "specialized activism" and including the use of personal stories to promote involvement may have a more positive impact when it comes to the policy making process in health care. Developing coalition among other healthcare fields/providers would also
Identifying the organizations that have completed successful social campaigns can save time. Employers are also a potential resource to encourage political engagement. Making political involvement a job responsibility that will be assessed during annual evaluations would definitely be a motivating factor for employees. To piggyback on the employer, offering a state organization membership at a discounted rate for their employees would also help ease the transition of the new requirement of political participation for the employees. Most employers try to avoid using social media for work purposes but when talking about campaigns social media can be incredibly helpful. The medical profession does not have a huge social media presence but nurses need to slowly start introducing themselves to this part of society because it can provide a great deal of information, patients would easily be able to give feedback on the care they received and make suggestions. Hosting forums on the regular basis either monthly or quarterly would be a good opportunity to educate the staff on the political process and any issues related to their