Running head: POLITICAL ACTION AWARENESS PAPER

Political Action Awareness Paper

Kelly Collinsworth
NUR/587
September 7, 2013
Cydney Mullen

POLITICAL ACTION AWARENESS PAPER

Political Action Awareness Paper

Professional nurses are advocates for patient and safety initiatives. Becoming involved in
practice changes and sharing stories from personal experiences improves quality of care for
patients. Nursing advocacy can take on many roles from the local, state, and federal levels.
Nurses can use professional organizations to voice concerns regarding patient care to avoid
competing interests from making detrimental health care decisions. This paper will explain how
nurses can use professional organizations to stay informed and maintain awareness of political
actions in the health care industry.
Professional Organizations
Registered nurses make up the majority of the health care workforce (Oestberg, 2012).
Becoming a member of a professional nursing organization or specialty group can provide
information on current health care policies. It is important for nurses to align themselves with
professional nursing organizations to improve the profession through increased nursing
competency and leadership skills (Schroder, 2013). The goal of professional nursing
organizations is to support nurses and his or her contribution to health care (Schroder, 2013).
Importance of Maintaining Political Awareness
Being a nurse advocate requires a basic understanding of the government system. A
health care policy educational course helps nurses learn how a bill becomes a law. There are
many professional nursing organizations that work closely with state representatives to bring
nursing issues to the national level. One way to become involved is to gain a good working
relationship with elected officials (Oestberg, 2012). Networking with fellow nurses and local
representatives helps create a unified voice to bring about positive change in the health care
industry.

POLITICAL ACTION AWARENESS PAPER

Conclusion
Change within the health care industry requires involvement of nurses at all political
levels. Awareness of current evidence-based practices is important in improving patient care.
Working closely with professional nursing organizations improves leadership skills and keeps
nurses up-to-date on nursing practices. Advocacy efforts through working with elected political
officials help influence nursing policy development and legislation (Matthews, 2012).

POLITICAL ACTION AWARENESS PAPER

References
Matthews, J. (2012). Role of professional organizations in advocating for the nursing profession.
Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 17(1), 11-13.
Oestberg, F. (2012). Policy and politics: Why nurses should get involved. Nursing 2012, 42(12),
46-49.
Schroder, R. (2013). The value of belonging to a professional nursing organization. AORN,
98(2), 99-101.