1. Advocating Through Policy
As noted by Dr. Stanley and Dr. White in this week’s media
presentation, professional nurses should be engaging in
advocacy efforts to improve health and nursing practice through
involvement in the policy process at the institutional, local,
state, or federal levels. This array of possibilities for
involvement provides opportunities for all nurses, regardless of
time, or other possible constraints. Successful policy making is
a collaborative effort, and one that commands mutual respect
from all involved. Your involvement in policy making can lead
to expanded opportunities as both a nurse leader and as a
respected member of an interprofessional health care team.
Note
: This Discussion provides a forum for discussing advocacy
opportunities and honing your presentation skills in a small
group setting.
To prepare:
Reflect on the insights offered by Dr. Stanley and Dr. White
on engaging in advocacy through the policy process.
Identify a practice issue that is of interest to you and that
could benefit from advocacy efforts through the policy
process.
Consider the stakeholders and any special interest or
professional organizations that would support your issue.

2. Develop a short, yet persuasive PowerPoint (up to 3 slides
IN APA FORMAT) as follows:
1) Identify the practice issue that would benefit from being
addressed through the policy process
2) Represent the key stakeholders (i.e. use graphical images
when possible)
3) Propose one strategy for how a nurse could advocate for this
issue
The PowerPoint should be succinct, visually appealing, and
effective.
By Tuesday 5/8/18 6pm
Post
your PowerPoint presentation.
Required Readings
Bodenheimer, T., & Grumbach, K. (2016).
Understanding health policy: A clinical approach
(7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Medical.

3. Chapter 17, “Conclusion: Tensions and Challenges”
This chapter concludes with final thoughts on the challenge
of providing quality health care and controlling health care
costs. The solution is likely to be resolved only by a
collaborative approach, involving all health care
stakeholders, and by health professionals taking the lead.
Howard, J., Levy, F., Mareiniss, D. P., Craven, C. K.,
McCarthy, M., Epstein-Peterson, Z. D., & et al. (2010). New
legal protections for reporting patient errors under the Patient
Safety and Quality Improvement Act: A review of the medical
literature and analysis.
Journal of Patient Safety, 6
(3), 147-152
.
The authors studied the dissemination of information on the
Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA), a federal
act that affords protection to those reporting medical errors.
They found medical literature to be inadequate in this regard,
and as a result, medical personnel were uninformed on their
legal protections. This lack of information has become a barrier
to policy implementation.
Jacobson, N., Butterill, D., & Goering, P. (2003). Development
of a framework for knowledge translation: Understanding user
context.
Journal of Health Services Research & Policy, 8
(2), 94–99.

4. Lau, B., San Miguel, S., & Chow, J. (2010). Policy and clinical
practice: Audit tools to measure adherence.
Renal Society of Australasia Journal, 6
(1), 36–40.
The authors study the compliance to renal-care policies by
health care professionals. They conclude with the necessity for
nurses to support evidence-based protocols as well as to obtain
continuing education on new protocols.
McCracken, A. (2010). Advocacy: It is time to be the change.
Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 36(3), 15-17.
The author proposes that nurses, as patient advocates, need to
be more involved in the making of health care policy instead of
reacting to policies that are constantly changing. The article
provides a guide to help organize initial policy efforts.
Nannini, A., & Houde, S. C. (2010). Translating evidence from
systematic reviews for policy makers.
Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 36
(6), 22–26.
The article cites geronotological nurses as examples of those
who are able to translate research into policy briefs that can be
clearly understood by policy makers. Geronotological nurses are
in this unique position because of their clinical experience and
educational background.

5. Paterson, B. L., Duffet-Leger, L., & Cuttenden, K. (2009).
Contextual factors influencing the evolution of nurses' roles in a
primary health care clinic.
Public Health Nursing, 26
(5), 421-429.
This article provides details on a study conducted in a nurse-
managed clinic related to the changing roles of nurses. The
authors found that nurses, in response to social, political, and
economic forces, became involved in advocacy for the clinic
through political action, government funding issues, and media
relations roles.
Sistrom, M. (2010). Oregon's Senate bill 560: Practical policy
lessons for nurse advocates.
Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 11
(1), 29-35. doi: 10.1177/1527154410370786
The author uses the efforts by a nurse advocate in lobbying for
an Oregon bill related to healthy food in public schools to
illustrate nurse advocacy and policy making. The bill,
developed in response to childhood obesity, did not immediately
become law. The author concludes with the importance of
considering the political environment when creating successful
policy.
Spenceley, S. M., Reutter, L., & Allen, M. N. (2006). The road
less traveled: Nursing advocacy at the policy level.
Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 7
(3), 180-194. doi: 10.1177/1527154410370786

6. Nurses have always been advocates at the patient-level of care,
but the authors of this article promote the need for all nurses to
become advocates at the policy level as well. They discuss
factors that have kept nurses from getting involved with policy
making and they provide strategies to resolve these challenges.
Wyatt, E. (2009). Health policy advocacy: Oncology nurses
make a difference.
ONS Connect, 24
(10), 12-15.
The author presents information on two nurses who have
become health care policy advocates—one as a policy maker
and one as an elected legislator. Both have been able to use
their perspectives from their nursing careers to affect health
policy.
Zomorodi, M., & Foley, B. J. (2009). The nature of advocacy
vs. paternalism in nursing: Clarifying the ‘thin line.’
Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65
(8), 1746-1752.
The authors attempt to distinguish the concepts of advocating
for a patient and paternalism, or overriding a patient’s wishes.
They provide clinical examples to illustrate the differences
between these concepts, and they conclude with strategies to
use in practice.

7. Required Media
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011).
Healthcare policy and advocacy: Advocating through policy.
Baltimore: Author.
Note:
The approximate length of this media piece is 7 minutes.
In this media presentation, Dr. Joan Stanley and Dr. Kathleen
White discuss how nurses can influence practice and engage in
advocacy through the policy process.
Optional Resources
Birnbaum, D. (2009). North American perspectives: POA, HAC
and never events.
Clinical Governance: An International Journal, 14
(3), 242–244.