Nurses and Labor Unions

The four spheres of political action in nursing as mentioned by Mason, Leavitt, and Chaffee (2011) includes the workplace or workforce, the government, the organizations, and the community. The authors further stated that although the four spheres overlap at times, the action performed in any one of these spheres can cause a reaction in any of the others. Nurses are a part of the community in which they live and can influence health and social policy within their workplace, which can have a profound impact on the organization. Furthermore, the government can pass health care policies, which in turn causes the organization to change their policy. Thus, affecting healthcare providers in the workplace and the community at large. An example of

Being the number one most trusted profession in the country allows nurses to truly take charge and make a difference in the policy arena Health Care Reform. (2017).

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

Nurses work in situations that are driven by political decisions and are directed by healthcare policies which are political in nature (Des Jardin., nd). Political Activism in Nursing includes Policy, Politics and Power. However, health and nursing are political and nurses should advocate to be political activists (CNA, 2000). Nurses advocating on behalf of clients or allow them to take actions on their problems/ issues. Nurses participates in unions, and workplace committees to influence healthcare reform, workplace violence and collective bargaining. The Canadian Nurses Association is the national professional voice of Registered Nurses in Canada. Lillian Wald, Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton are few of the many political

The Oklahoma Board of Nursing (OBN) provides information to the public about the services of the Board of Nursing (OBN, n.d.). The purpose of the OBN is to “safeguard the public’s health by ensuring that licensed nurses are qualified and competent to practice” (OBN, n.d.). The public has access to the OBN to inquire on current licensed nurses, Nurse Practice Act, and guidelines about nursing care (OBN, n.d.). The American Nurses Association (ANA) is the “only full-service professional organization” that represents registered nurses’ interest through associations and partners (ANA, 2014). Their mission is “nurses advancing our profession to improve health for all” (ANA, 2014). They promote nursing practice by setting high standards, promoting nurses’ rights, leading a realistic outlook of nursing, and “by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public” (ANA, 2014). The National League for Nursing (NLN) is an organization for any nursing-related faculty offering “faculty development programs, networking opportunities, testing and assessment, nursing research grants, and public policy” (NLN, 2013). Their mission is to “promote excellence in nursing education to build a strong and diverse nursing workforce to advance the nations health” (NLN, 2013).

In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or PPACA gave many Americans the opportunity to have health care coverage that previously may have not been available to them. The reform is primarily aimed at decreasing the number of uninsured and underinsured Americans. The landscape of health care is changing and nursing is evolving alongside it. This health care overhaul gives nurses a vital role in leading the reform revolution. With more than three million strong, nursing is the biggest sector of the nation’s health care labor

In the United States alone there are well over three million registered nurses as of 2015, with just over two hundred thousand of that total practicing within the state of Florida (Total Number of Professionally Active Nurses, 2015, n.p.). With that being said, there are many different nursing organizations available within the United States to represent not only the registered nurse, but also to represent the student nurse as well. Several nursing organizations are geared towards specialties, ethnicity, location, education level or gender (Matthews, J., 2012, n.p.). Nursing organizations also lobby federally for the profession as a whole as well as for the public (Schroeder, R., 2013, August, pg.99). For the purpose of this paper I will

With the ANA support in March of 2010 President Obama proposed the Health Care Reform Act to help assure individuals better, high-quality, and affordable health care insurance coverage. ("Health care reform in the United States", 2010, p.1). "The health care is a human right, and will continue to fight on behalf of nurses and their patients to ensure that this is achieved" (Ana: Ensuring nurses, paragraph, 1). By attending and speaking at public health care events, being involved with other stakeholders like; Health Reform Dialogue (HRD) group, and along with staying up to date and in contact with the Congress and Capitol Hill the ANA shows it's involvement to achieving the goal that the health care reform act insures. Stakeholders and other health care professional organizations gather to speak about " health coverage, disease prevention, and increasing funds for education. These ideas are now being projected to the media and Congress (Ana: Ensuring nurses).

The American Nurses Association (ANA) is a full-service professional organization that symbolizes the interests of registered nurses through its constituent and state nurses associations. The ANA implements the nursing profession by raising high standards of nursing practice, honoring the rights of nurses in the work field, promoting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by pushing the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public. Their mission statement is, “Nurses advancing our profession to improve health for all.” Some of ANA’s main focuses are reformation of the health care system so that it delivers primary health care in the communities, growing roles for

In a profession where others' health and well-being are priority, there leaves room for neglect of those who are delegated to care for these people. As a professional nurse, there are many obstacles that arise and affect the care provided to a patient, as well as the livelihood of the nurse. The current deteriorating and unsafe staffing conditions in hospitals and other institutions prompts workplace advocacy as the universally appropriate concept for maintaining professional nursing practice. The Arkansas Nurses Association and the Louisiana State Nurses Association define workplace advocacy as a planned, organized system of services and resources designed to support the professional nurse in the workplace (White Paper on

There are over three million nursing professional in United States and they make the largest segment of nation’s health care workforce. Nurses can play a vital role in helping to realize the objectives set forth in the 2010 affordable act, legislation that represents the broadest health care overhaul since the 1965 creation of Medicare and Medicaid program (IOM 2010). Due to the restricting barriers nurses were not able to respond effectively to the changing health care systems. In 2008, The

Individuals have been at work for thousands and thousands of years. Over the last century there have been many changes in the United States that protects workers in their positions and the duties they perform. There has been many changes for employers as well that protects companies and organization and offers beneficial information to keep them in compliance with changes and away from any from and form of discrimination. Over the last century there has been the organization of Unions (Bargaining Unit) in which are to protect workers in their positions, give them fair marketable pay and be the liaison between the employer and employee. Union organizations represent employees and negotiate contracts that

The health care issue that I have chosen to research is how we should address the shortage of nurses. I have chosen this topic because I work in a hospital and it is very difficult to recruit new nurses especially in specialized areas. Nurses in the workplace are the largest population of health care employees at 2.7 million nurses employed in the United States according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is almost double the nursing assistants employed at 1.4 million which is the second leading health care occupation in the United States. The nursing profession has the largest job growth from 2008 to 2018 with a total of projection of more than 581,500 new registered nurse positions to be created. It is also projected by 2025 to have a nursing shortage that will grow to more than 260,000 registered nurses (N.d.), Overview of BLS Statistics by Occupation, http://www.bls.gov/bls/occupation.htm

Nurses work in a challenge work setting; therefore, nurses must recognize the current issues of the facility and health care system as well as comprehend and utilize the optimal advocacy strategies to be successful and accountable professionals. American Nurse Association (ANA) provides five resources for workforce advocacy programs which include: