NR506NP Healthcare Policy and Leadership

Week 7 Discussion (NR506NP Full Course Assignments)

APNs as Healthcare Policy Leaders

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to discuss healthcare policy of the APN profession and how Transformational Leadership can help to influence policy changes. This week’s assignment focuses on the APN as a Health Policy Leader, one of the nine NONPF NP competencies.  Students will analyze how health policy may affect NP practice and how Transformational Leadership can help to influence policy changes.

Activity Learning Outcomes

Through this discussion, the student will demonstrate the ability to:

Critically analyze how healthcare systems and APRN practice are organized and influenced by ethical, legal, economic and political factors (CO2)

Demonstrate professional and personal growth concerning the advocacy role of the advanced practice nursing in fostering policy within diverse healthcare settings (CO3)

Advocate for institutional, local, national and international policies that fosters person-centered healthcare and nursing practice (CO4)

Requirements:

Criteria for Content

Explanation of how healthcare policy can impact the advanced practice nurse profession

Explanation of why advocacy is considered an essential component of the advance practice nurse’s role

Discuss the four pillars of Transformational leadership and the effect it may have on influencing policy change

 

MORE INFO 

APNs as Healthcare Policy Leaders

Introduction

The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) is proud to offer an opportunity for nurses to join the ranks of policy leaders. This position is not only open to all levels of experience, but it also provides opportunities for advancement and growth as your career progresses. As a policy leader, you will contribute to the mission of AANP by advancing health outcomes through nursing education, interprofessional education and providing leadership within your professional organization (APN).

APNs as Policy Leaders

As an APN, you are well-positioned to lead healthcare policy. You have the knowledge and expertise to do so. And you can use your unique position as a healthcare policy leader to make a difference in the health of millions of Americans across the country.

APNs who understand how their work affects patients will be able to make informed decisions about what policies should be enacted at any given time. They’ll also know which policies are most likely to improve outcomes for patients—and thus save lives!

The Next Frontier: APNs as Policy Leaders

The APN profession is already a leader in healthcare policy. While many other professions, including physicians and nurses, have been influenced by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), APNs have played an active role from the outset. In fact, it was an APN who helped pass the ACA into law in 2010.

APNs are not only leaders in their own field; they also serve as liaisons between hospitals and policymakers at state capitols or federal agencies that affect our patients’ access to care—and sometimes even lives! As such, it should come as no surprise that many of them see themselves at least partially responsible for shaping policies around health care delivery today—and those same responsibilities will likely continue into tomorrow’s world order where technology has replaced manual labor with robots (or automated machines) capable of performing tasks once reserved only for humans alone.”

Policy Competencies for APNs

You will need to be able to work effectively with your team and other stakeholders. You may also have to advocate for policies that improve patient care, including those that impact reimbursement.

You’ll need the following competencies:

• Identifying policy issues affecting your patients and communities

• Determining how these issues affect patient outcomes and cost-effectiveness of services provided by APNs in a given setting (e.g., local hospital) or across multiple settings (e.g., national). This includes understanding what constitutes good practice; identifying areas where there are gaps between current standards/guidelines/protocols/standard operating procedures (SOPs), as well as developing recommendations based on this information so they can be incorporated into future SOPs or protocols at all levels of care (i.e., local hospitals).

Nursing Education and Interprofessional Education

Healthcare policy leaders are responsible for promoting health and wellness, as well as improving the quality of care delivered to patients. In order to do this effectively, healthcare policy leaders must be knowledgeable about both nursing education and interprofessional education.

Nursing education is a critical component of patient safety because it helps ensure that nurses are able to provide high-quality patient care in a safe environment. As an APN leader, you will play an important role in ensuring that all aspects of patient care—from assessment through discharge—are conducted safely by providing guidance and support on behalf of your organization’s clinicians who provide direct patient services.

While nursing education has always been important for improving healthcare outcomes across industries (such as retail), there has been growing interest over time in how it affects interprofessional collaboration between different disciplines within healthcare facilities such as physicians/physicians’ assistants (PAs), registered nurses (RNs), physical therapists/techs/tech assistants etcetera).

Introducing APNs to Leadership in Healthcare Policy

• APNs need to be aware of the role they can play in healthcare policy, and how their skills and experience can help.

• APNs should understand that communication is one of the most important skills for them to have, both within their work life at home as well as outside of it.

• In order for APNs to make an impact on healthcare policy, it’s essential that they are able to communicate effectively with other stakeholders—including patients, doctors and nurses—as well as politicians who influence policy decisions around health care systems worldwide

Takeaway:

You’re in the right place to learn about APNs and how they can help your healthcare organization. APNs are leaders in healthcare policy, and because of that, they will have a large impact on how hospitals operate in the future. They’re also helping nurses understand their role as caregivers by providing more education than ever before.

As a nurse or other healthcare leader, it’s important to understand what an APN does so that you can use their expertise when making decisions about hiring or promoting staff members who may not have any formal training yet but still want to take on more responsibility within your organization’s operations team (or elsewhere).

Conclusion

The next frontier for APNs is to lead the way in healthcare policy. This can be accomplished by promoting interprofessional collaboration, educating the public about nursing, and working with other health professions to advance our profession’s agenda. We know that there is much work ahead of us and we look forward to seeing you on this journey.