How a Bill Becomes a Law Trends and Issues in Health Care – Nurses in Politics

Nrs-440v week 4 legislative worksheet (sbar format): how a invoice

State of affairs: Nurses in the US have lengthy been underrepresented in politics on the native, state and federal ranges. Though nurses make up a big proportion of well being care staff, solely about 2-4% of all state legislators are registered nurses.

Background: The American political system is predicated on consultant democracy which signifies that elected officers signify their constituents’ pursuits when making coverage selections. Because of this nurses must be current in these decision-making our bodies to make sure that points associated to nursing and well being care are taken under consideration when contemplating coverage reforms.

Evaluation: Regardless of their important contributions to affected person care, nurses lack illustration amongst lawmakers and this may result in insurance policies that ignore or undermine the position of nurses in creating more healthy communities. There’s additionally proof indicating that having extra legislators with direct expertise as nurses might profit sufferers by offering higher entry to prime quality well being care providers.

Advice: In an effort to enhance nurse illustration inside legislatures, it can be crucial for nurse leaders and organizations such because the American Nurses Affiliation (ANA) or Nationwide Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)to develop initiatives aimed toward recruiting extra nurses into politics via training and advocacy efforts comparable to voter registration drives or candidate boards the place potential candidates can talk about their platform concepts for enhancing entry to healthcare providers for all residents. Moreover, it will helpful for universities providing nursing packages to introduce programs targeted on educating college students concerning the legislative course of so that they develop into higher knowledgeable about how legal guidelines are made and the way they may influence their apply as soon as they enter the workforce.