LOBBYING BY NURSES
Questions
Name 4 ways to lobby for particular healthcare issues you are concerned about.
Lobbying is the act of seeking influence from legislators to change the government’s decisions on issues at hand (Beard, 2011, pg. 390). Universal healthcare (UHC) is the bid by the government through the ministry of health and other stakeholders to increase health insurance coverage on its citizens by reducing household pocket expenditure on health and improving access to essential health services. Some prominent ways to lobby for UHC include:
Letter writing.
Telephone calls
E-mail writing
Providing hearing testimony
Discuss the common reasons people get involved in lobbying.
Many people get involved with lobbying because:
They see something that needs to be changed (Beard, 2011, pg.391), for example, the future of nursing calls for nurses to practice to the full extent of their education and training.
To inform their legislators of the consequences of the current policies and suggest alternatives (Beard, 2011, pg.392), for example in a state where nurse practitioners are not able to practice without having a physician to collaborate or supervise them.
3)Describe the four stages of how nursing has developed politically as per Cohen et al. Stages of nursing political development: where we’ve been and where we ought to go.
Cohen’s model consists of four stages as follows:
Stage one: Buy-In.
This stage mainly focuses on nursing issues. Nursing profession introduces nurses to the political awareness required to address changes needed in the policy arena and injustices. From this stage, the nurse begins to decide how to get involved.
Stage two: self-Interest.
This stage occurs when the nurse becomes more attentive on explicit issues related to their area of practice instead of the larger issues of nursing and health care. The nurse becomes motivated to learn the elements of political activism and moves from an acknowledgement of a problem to developing a plan.
Stage three: Political Sophistication
Here, nurses realize they are health care experts. They become active with policymakers and health care leaders to be on their advisory agencies, to attest before state legislators, and get appointed to policymaking bodies.
Stage four: Leading the way.
In this last stage, the nurse sets the agenda for change. The nurse becomes the initiator of crucial policy development, directs the dialogue and policy development of the organization after which selections to positions outside nursing is done.
4)State three ways for the nurse to become a political activist as suggested per Rouse” From apathy to political activism”
According to Rouse, a nurse can become a political activist in various ways including:
Joining professional association where they can stay updated on pieces of legislation
Getting to know elected official.
Volunteering for the campaign.