Question

Justify the role of the nurse in agenda setting for healthcare issues.

Answer 1

Through policy work, nursescan and should influence practice standards and processes to assure quality of care. Nurses who influencepolicy help shape the care that will be provided today and tomorrow. Policies also impact resource allocation to support delivery of healthcare.Existence helps regulate, inform, and promote thenursing profession. With such numbers, it can be difficult to distinguish between BONs andnursing associations, and overwhelming to consider various benefits and options offered by each.Nurses are also responsible for ensuring that patients are able to understand their health, illnesses, medications, and treatments to the best of their ability. This is of essence when patients are discharged from hospital and will need to take control of their own treatments.Healthcare has been a policy item and a topic of debate not only in recent times but as far back as the administration of the second U.S. president, John Adams. In 1798, Adams signed legislation requiring that 20 cents per month of a sailor’s paycheck be set aside for covering their medical bills. This represented the first major piece of U.S. healthcare legislation, and the topic of healthcare has been woven into presidential agendas and political debate ever since.As a healthcare professional, you may be called upon to provide expertise, guidance and/or opinions on healthcare matters as they are debated for inclusion into new policy. You may also be involved in planning new organizational policy and responses to changes in legislation. For all of these reasons you should be prepared to speak to national healthcare issues making the news.
Review the agenda priorities of the current/sitting U.S. president and the two previous presidential administrations.Select an issue related to healthcare that was addressed by each of the last three U.S. presidential administrations.Reflect on the focus of their respective agendas, including the allocation of financial resources for addressing the healthcare issue you selected.Consider how you would communicate the importance of a healthcare issue to a legislator/policymaker or a member of their staff for inclusion on an agenda.Use the Agenda Comparison Grid Template found in the Learning Resources and complete the Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid based on the current/sitting U.S. president and the two previous presidential administrations and their agendas related to the public health concern you selected. Be sure to address the following,Identify and provide a brief description of the population health concern you selected and the factors that contribute to it.Describe the administrative agenda focus related to the issue you selected.Identify the allocations of financial and other resources that the current and two previous presidents dedicated to this issue.Explain how each of the presidential administrations approached the issue.Using the information you recorded in Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid on the template, complete the Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis portion of the template, by addressing the following,Which administrative agency would most likely be responsible for helping you address the healthcare issue you selected?How do you think your selected healthcare issue might get on the agenda for the current and two previous presidents? How does it stay there?Who would you choose to be the entrepreneur/ champion/sponsor of the healthcare issue you selected for the current and two previous presidents?
Part 3: Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief. Based on the feedback that you received from your colleagues in the Discussion, revise Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid and Part 2: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis.Then, using the information recorded on the template in Parts 1 and 2, develop a 1-page Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief that you could use to communicate with a policymaker/legislator or a member of their staff for this healthcare issue. You can use Microsoft Word or PowerPoint to create your Fact Sheet or Talking Point Brief. Be sure to address the following:

Justify the role of the nurse in agenda setting for healthcare issues.Summarize why this healthcare issue is important and should be included in the agenda for legislation.