Nursing

ANSWER BOTH QUESTIONS

1. Choose a legislator on the state or federal level who is also a nurse and discuss the importance of the legislator/nurse’s role as advocate for improving health care delivery. What specific bills has the legislator/nurse sponsored or supported that have influenced health care.

2. Research legislation that has occurred within the last 5 years at the state or federal level as a result of nurse advocacy. Describe the legislation and what was accomplished. What additional steps need to be taken to continue advocacy for this issue?

No reference less than 5 years old – needs to be related to nurse advocacy.

2 references each question -APA 7th Edition

ANSWER

Nurse Legislators

There are different states whereby nurses are serving their patients in a new setting in the State legislature. Some of these States include Hawaii, California, Arizona, Minnesota and Maryland. Some people think that mixing nursing and politics is tenuous but to those who have decided to follow that path, the relationship is natural. An example of a nurse who has taken politics on is Mary Ann Dailey who is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives through the Republican Party (Gioia, 2016). The legislature makes laws that affect registered nurses, and therefore, it is important for the nurses to have a representative to ensure that the laws that are made concerning nurses are not negatively affecting their jobs. Dailey, as a legislator has introduced and cosponsored legislation such as a bill to allow whistleblower nurses to be protected and other healthcare professionals  who are afraid to speak up on any event that might have happened in the hospital (Watson & O’Connor, 2017)

An example of a legislation that has been enacted through nursing advocacy is the childhood cancer survivorship treatment. The STAR Act of 2018 was enacted on June 2018. The act was put in place to identify childhood cancer patients and ensure that they have an improved quality life as survivors (Livanos, 2019). Oncology Nursing Society sent a mail on the bipartisan legislation in 2017 to Senator Reed and sent letters to house leaders persuading the members to favorably vote for the bill (Roxanne Blackburn & Sandra Chaveleh, 2020). The legislation was enacted which led to an increased pace of pediatric cancer research. The increase led to an increase in the number of survivors, which led to better treatment options. More research is being conducted on the effects on the survivors and efforts made to reduce the negative effects. The act and the research have led to positive outcomes and fewer side effects. It has also created a better understanding of disease treatment and the patients. More research should be done and more advocacy should continue to ensure that patients are benefiting from pediatric oncology and that patients have a speedy recovery with fewer side effects.

References

Gioia, C. A. (2016). The Prominent Role of the Nurse in Healthcare Legislation and Advocacy. Population Health, 9.

Livanos, N. (2019). Who Drafted That? Model Legislation Impacting Nursing and Regulation. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 10(2), 60-63.

Roxanne Blackburn, M. S. N., & Sandra Chaveleh, B. S. N. (2020). Advocacy. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 24(1), 103-106.

Watson, C. L., & O’Connor, T. (2017). Legislating for advocacy: The case of whistleblowing. Nursing ethics, 24(3), 305-312.