Nursing and Health Policy

Nursing and Health Policy

Health policy affects every nurse’s daily practice. Indeed, health
policy determines who gets what type of health care, when, how,
from whom, and at what cost. The study of health policy is an
indispensable component of professional development in nursing,
whether it is undertaken to advance a healthier society, promote a
safer health care system, or support nursing’s ability to care for
people with equity and skill. Just as Florence Nightingale
understood that health policy held the key to improving the health
of poor Londoners and the British military, so are today’s nurses
needed to create compelling cases and actively influence better
health policies at every level of governance.

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With national attention
focused on how to transform health care in ways that produce
better outcomes and reduce health care costs, nursing has an
unprecedented opportunity to provide proactive and visionary
leadership. Indeed, the Institute of Medicine’s landmark report, The
Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health (2011), calls for
nurses to be leaders in redesigning health care. But will nurses rise
to this occasion? Nursing and Health Policy
Health care opinion leaders in a 2010 poll identified two reasons
nurses would fall short of influencing health care reform: too many
nurses do not want to lead, and with over 120 national
organizations, nursing often fails to present a united front (Gallup,
2010). As the largest health care profession, nursing has great
potential power. Yet, similar to many professions, it has struggled
to collaborate within its ranks or with other groups on pressing
issues of health policy. The IOM report has provided a rallying
point for nursing organizations to work together and engage other
stakeholders to advance its recommendations Nursing and Health Policy.