Emancipatory Nursing Theory

This assignment requires that I develop and thoroughly analyze a public policy in order to advocate for one that improves the health of the public and/or the nursing profession globally (local, state, national or international). To do this, I must reflect on several aspects of being a policy maker within the nursing profession. I was instructed to consider the following:

The purpose of this paper is to create a concept analysis and identify a nursing concept that is within a nursing theory. A concept analysis is a process where concepts and their characteristics are researched and clarified. The eight steps on conducting a concept analysis include selection of a concept used in a nursing theory, identification of the aims or purposes of the analysis, identification of possible use of the selected concept, determination of defining attributes, identification of model cases, identification of antecedents and consequences, and lastly definition of empirical referents (Walker & Avant, 2011). The nursing concept selected for this paper is “empowerment” within the nursing profession. The nursing theory from which the empowerment concept was obtained is Kanter’s Theory on Structural Empowerment. In order to empower someone, an individual needs the tools and resources to feel powered. According to Laschinger, Gilbert, Smith, & Leslie (2010), Kanter defines power as the ability to mobilize information, resources and support to get things done in an organization. The role of management is to provide employees with power tools that empower them to maximize their ability to accomplish their work in a meaningful way. Kanter goes on to describe two primary empowerment structures in organizations, first being the structure of opportunity and second the structure of power. The structure of opportunity relates to job conditions that provide

Nursing is defined as the promotion, protection and the prevention of illness and Injury, the treatment of a patient’s disease or diseases, the patient’s response to a disease, as well as one big thing that nurses are known for, and that is being a patient’s advocate nursing has been one of the fastest growing fields since the 1990’s (Mueller et al.,2012). Advocacy is defined as an action in which a person speaks out, argues a cause, supports and defends on the behalf of others. I believe that the role of being a patient advocate is one of the most important things a nurse can do because there are many patients that cannot speak on their behalf, I believe that it is up to the nurses to be those patients as well as all patient’s voices (Mueller et al., 2012).

Nursing is very broad and beyond nursing process; assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating. Nursing deals with knowledge and knowing. “The nature of knowledge changes with time, but the fundamental values that guide nursing practice have remained remarkably stable.” (Chin and Kramers , 2011, p. 5). Nursing is a practice that focuses on wellness and healing in wholeness; body, mind and soul. As we practice nursing, we take into action acquired knowledge, experiences and insight from various aspects of our lives within the ethical limitations or frameworks. One of these fundamental values includes emancipatory knowing. According to Chin and Kramers (2011); “Emancipatory knowing is the human capacity to be aware of and to critically reflect upon the social, cultural, and political status quo and to figure out how and why it came to be that way”. Take for instance, the incident that happened in Utah in July 26th, 2017, between the Salt Lake Police officer and a University of Utah Nurse; where she was unjustly arrested because she refused to give blood sample of an unconscious patient to the police officer even after reading the hospital policy as it relates to obtaining blood sample from an unconscious patient. The hospital policy states that for blood samples to be obtained from an unconscious patient, there has to be; a court order, electronic warrant, patient consent, or a patient been under arrest. In this case, none of this applied to the patient and so the nurse

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.  Common

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

As the society acknowledges the importance of human rights and dignity, the issues among the poverty, homeless, violence victims are now more considered. Although there are difference in roles between nurses from acute care, intensive care, and emergency settings nurses, community nurses engage those issues to become advocates for social justice. Health care nurses collaborate to identify strategies for incorporating social justice aims into their work environment (Johnstone, 2011). As a public nurses, there has been many researches to address vulnerability, diversity, health literacy, health care access, health care disparities and issues of particular populations such as ethnic and racial minority health, gay and lesbian health and the health of children, women and older adults (Johnstone, 2011). For example, affordable health care 2010 was implied for equitable delivery of healthcare for all individuals in United States. Although there are pro and cons on success of the system, it was aimed to promote the justice of human need to have least of health care when necessary. Among with the issues of inequality and unfairness of worldwide insurance system, this act was to provide fair access to health care. To achieve the aims of a just, accessible, affordable health care system for all, public health nurses make an effort to engage the professional advocacy.

Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2012). Public health nursing: Population-centered health care in the community (8th ed.). Maryland Heights, MO: Mosby Elsev

Political activism is an important complement for nurses in the clinical practice. Nurses are in an exceptional position not only to provide quality bed side care to their patients but also to advocate for change within the community and political field. Common problem affecting a group of people can be a political issue. Identifying the cause of this issue and advocating to solve the root cause with the help of decision makers like politicians, hospital executives, managers or government bureaucrats, nurses can bring beneficial changes in Canadian Health care system.

During the conference there are various events, exhibitions, and educational opportunities to explore. The NBNA promotes nursing policy and activism within the organization by spearheading various programs. The organization hosts a, “national Black nurses day on capitol hill, to educate the U.S. Congress on the nursing shortage, the nursing profession, and health care disparities. The Institute of Excellence (IOE) was created for the collaboration of local and national nurses to join forces with other local, national, and international leaders” (NBNA, 2014). This unison will address health, social issues, and the eradication of health disparities. The organizations participation and influence regarding nursing policy and activism, showcases their commitment to ensure the highest quality of healthcare locally and globally.

When looking at Nursing as a profession, it is important to identify the body of knowledge which pertains to its profession. According to Carper (1978) the body of knowledge that serves as a rationale for nursing practice has patterns, forms and structure. Understanding these patterns is essential for the teaching and learning of nursing as a profession. Carper (1978) identifies four fundamental patterns of knowing and are known to be empirics, ethical, aesthetics and personal knowledge. Chinn & Kramer (2008) added the fifth pattern to knowing called Emancipatory knowing to address the issues of equality and justice. This essay will explain the five ways of knowing and show how it relates to my nursing practice.

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

Social justice refers to fairness (Potter & Griffin-Perry, 2009). In the health care field it is the fair distribution of health care resources regardless of socioeconomic background. As nurses it is our responsibility to identify and minimize social barriers; making it easy for any member of society to gain access. To promote social justice, systems have to be implemented so that the resources are fairly distributed. For example, placing organ recipient on a list and selecting them through a lottery system. This ensures that the organ been donated is not going to someone who is more financially stable. Nursing students can take advantage of the resources available to them through their

Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2015). Community/Public health nursing: Promoting the health of populations (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Saunders/Elsevier.

Nurses take on educator roles both in educating the public on their health and as educators in clinical practice and academic settings. As a public educator, nurses teach and counsel patients and families to enhance health and well-being. Patient and family health education is an important step in preventing disease. In order to be able to properly educate their clients on health promotion and well-being, nurses must first fully understand “health”. Nurses do not view health as “the absence of illness” but “define health as the extent to which an individual or group is able to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs and to change or cope with the environment in which they live.” (CARNA, 2005, p.2). Nurses hold a holistic view of the person and health and address health within the context of a person’s wholeness, including biological, emotional, psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual dimensions. Incorporating these ideas, nurses use the determinants of health as a way of dealing with and achieving health for an individual. Nurses recognize the broad determinants of health as income & social status, education, culture, physical environments, gender, health services, social support networks, employment & working conditions, health services, personal health practices, and biology & genetic endowment.