Nurses Leadership Roles in Policy

“Nurses are more than caregivers in today’s healthcare settings. They are teachers, advocates and pioneers in improving healthcare. They are stepping out of the old model and taking ownership for changes in healthcare. Nurses are developing their own scientific research programs to improve patient care. They are playing a pivotal role in healthcare reform. Nurses are becoming leaders, not followers in healthcare reform.”

Prior to her current role, she worked as an Assistant Director of Nursing for over 5 years at Sun Air Convalescent Hospital and a Sub-Acute coordinator for 1 year. She has been working now at Berkley Valley Convalescent Hospital as Director of Nursing for over 20

The Institute of Medicine’s 2010 report on The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health acknowledges the changing healthcare sector in the US and describes future vision of healthcare and the role of nurses to fulfill that vision. The United States always strives to provide affordable and quality healthcare to the entire population of the country. In order to achieve this goal an overall restructuring of the healthcare system was necessitated. Nurses are considered to be the central part of the healthcare system to provide high quality and safe patient care. Nursing in the US is the single largest segment of the healthcare workforce with almost 3 million nurses working in different areas across the county. The changing

Nurse leaders are the background to the nursing care. Effective nurse leaders can promote a positive workforce and a healthy work place for other nurses. Workplace dynamics is an essential part of how each nurse functions. Nurses, being mentally and physically stressed, need to have support and guidance from a nurse leader to feel confident about performance. The impact of nursing leaders can be a positive and guiding force for the younger or more inexperienced nurse. Having strong relationships with solid leaders can instill values in the beginning stages of a newer nurses’ career. Gaining insight and core concepts from a more experienced leader can make a world of difference in the way a new nurse performs, provides patient care, and sets future goals for themselves. A newer nurse with a positive role model and nurse leader can model themselves to become a leader for future nurses.

Moreover, leadership suggests providing patient-centered care and demonstrating the ability to evaluate the quality and cost-effectiveness of the healthcare delivery. A graduate nurse leader ought to demonstrate the

There are many way in which nurses could contribute leadership to improve the health care system to provide advance patient care. IOM states that, “serving as strong patient advocates, nurses must be involved in decision making about how to improve the delivery of care” (IOM, 2011, p. 222). In order to have a voice in the health care reform, nurses need to take opportunities to be involve in committees or board meetings and participate in making policies. The IOM “committee believes there will be numerous opportunities for nurses to help develop and implement care

“The health reform law contains provisions that will produce more nurses to meet increasing demands for health care, prepare more highly-skilled nurses to better meet the needs of an aging population with more complex health problems, and create opportunities for nurses to participate in and lead efforts to redesign the nation’s ailing health care system,” said Susan Hassmiller, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) senior adviser

Many times, the people who are creating policies or legislation for health care reform are not the “first providers” of the health care system. As the journal article, “Influencing Health Care in the Legislative Arena” stated, “[nurses] are often the first providers to see clearly when and how the health care system is not effectively meeting patients needs;” hence, we need more nurses to take a stance in the legislative arena.

In the future, the role of the nurse in a leadership position will change drastically due to the impact of the IOM report (National League for Nursing, 2012). The IOM report calls for the development of strategic, social, and critical thinking skills so that nurses are better able to partner with other healthcare members, and become key players in health care decision making (Institute of Medicine, 2010). Nurses

Nurses are increasingly becoming the strong leadership in developing all aspects of health care policy and decisions. Unfortunately the shared consensus is that most nurses do not possess leadership skills adequate enough to keep up with the ever-evolving field. The IOM reports on this by stating: “Nurses at all levels need strong leadership skills to contribute to patient safety and quality of care.” (IOM, 2010 pp.223) It is felt that nurses are depicted as people who carry out

"In 2008, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) began a two-year study initiative to respond, the need to assess and transform the nursing profession."("The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health," 2010).An interdisciplinary committee was put together to report the nations issues impacting health care. Recommendations were set forth by the IOM in a way to improve and restructure the nursing profession to fit the future of the medical field. ("The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health," 2010) The recommendation from the committee starts with an action-oriented blueprint for the future of nursing also to identify matters of medical care, research, education. (AJN, American Journal of Nursing: 2010). The Affordable Healthcare ACT (ACA) of 2010 introduced new changes to United States healthcare system. These changes were the improvement of research and evidence-based practice, health awareness, prevention screenings, and community-based wellness promotion and applied. (Affordable Care Act, 2010) Before the IOM’s action-oriented blueprint nurses came up against barriers that prevented them from being able to the start to make those transformations. Today nurses have the potential to overcome obstacles by leading innovative strategies to transform nursing education, practice, and leadership. ("The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health," 2010)

The system is wasting millions, billions, and trillions of dollars on things that we do not need and practices that are not working. According to Ezekiel, if we can regulate the money waste, than we can rebuild the whole system. Ezekiel is a psychiatrist, so he studies behavior change, and can see that the health care system needs ‘behavior change’ before it can heal. Examples of this ‘behavior change’ would be cutting back on the money spent on machines or revise the roots of the problem: school physical education.

Nurses have a unique positon on the healthcare team; nurses are, literally and metaphorically, at the patient’s bedside to influence care on several avenues. The nursing profession already plays a critical role in cost control, quality of care, and patient safety, The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will increase opportunities for nurses to improve both individuals and the Healthcare system for healthier outcomes (Health care reform: Improving quality of care, 2016). To do so nurses must understand what the ACA is about and how our profession will play a large part to facilitate a positive outcome for all.

Patients, in any healthcare setting, deserve respect and care that is centered on their unique needs. Nurses and health care are required to assist them to achieve this goal. Changing the health care system will require us to reestablish our

The American Nurses Association (ANA) is an advocate of the IOM’s report. The report is consistent with ANA’s recommendations and goals and highlights the importance to nursing to continually advance the profession. Furthermore, the ANA agrees with the emphasis and significance placed on the need for nurses to be owners of leadership roles within the health care setting (American Nurses Association, n.d.). The report is relevant for all people and never loses sight of the patient as the center of care and most importantly is based on evidence (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, n.d.b). The Campaign for Action was derived with the intent to continue the efforts and to further the advancement of the objectives of the