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Health Care Policy Analysis

Decent Essays

Health Care and Politics are rapidly developing and changing. Beginning with the political side and policy making, there are a series of steps that must take place before any changes can be made. Policy modifications result from existing policies that need changing. According to Longest, policy modification is when the consequences of existing policies feed back into the agenda setting and legislation development stages of the formulation phase and into the rule making and operational stages of the implementation phase and stimulate changes in legislation, rules, or operations. Policy analysis plays an important role in the modification process because it can provide the opportunity to make appropriate alterations to policies. There are multiple …show more content…

More specifically in my mind, I believe the nurses have to adapt to these changes more quickly than other medical employees. Nurses occupy a unique and powerful position in our health care system. They spend more time with patients than anyone else the majority of the time. They are often the first to know when our health care system does not meet patient needs, and they have a deep understanding of its overall failures. Therefore, they have to make sure they are educated on the changes that have been made so they are able to present the patient with the correct information regarding their …show more content…

As a health care team member who has direct access to patients on the daily bases who better to be a part of the policy making process. Nurses can not only be a voice for themselves to make their job run smoother but they can also be a voice for the patients to help them receive the care they deserve. If nurses fail to take part in this process others will make decisions that affect their practice without any of their input and they will continue to be forced to adapt to the changes that could have negative effects on themselves and their patients. Continuing to increase the number of nurses who are politically intelligent and active will help achieve the desired goal. One effective way to accomplish this is to continuously educate all staff nurses for this vital role. Another way is to pay attention to legislation that is introduced and by contacting elected representatives to voice opinions on your behalf, whether they are positive or negative. Technology makes this process convenient through the use of the Internet and E-mail. In the past the common thought among the nursing community is that there was nothing in their power that they could do as health personnel to change or influence the policies that were being implemented in their hospitals and clinics. I

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