Learning Objective 1: Appraise the nursing role of political advocate and its impact upon patient safety.
Learning Objective 2: Identify that political advocacy is within the nursing role, scope of nursing practice and competence.
Overall, the influence of nursing upon health policy has been minimal (Short, 2007). Historical examples of nursing advocacy include the actions of Florence Nightingale, Margaret Sanger, and Dorothea Dix. Nightingale utilized the media to inform the public of the conditions endured by soldiers injured in the Crimea war, to gain the resources she needed. Margaret Sanger advocated for women’s rights and birth control at a time when such discussions were not protected by legislation, eventually leading to the founding of Planned Parenthood. Dorothea Dix advocated for the mentally ill which resulted in legislation protecting this vulnerable group (D'Antonio, et al., 2010: Zauderer, et al., 2009). Current examples include research that resulted in policy development relating to nurse staffing (Aiken, et al., 2002).
Despite the professional requirement, and legislative decisions that impact nursing education, practice and research, nurses have generally remained reluctant to assume an advocacy role and refrain from speaking out for social, health related legislation diminishing nursing image and political influence (Taylor, 2016). Nurses consider political activism not related to their role and outside scope of nursing practice and competence (Taylor). Nurses must be empowered to engage in decision making relating to healthcare concerns and contact representatives sharing support or concerns (Mc Murray, 2010). Nursing’s unique perspective provides an informed nursing voice to act as the patient advocate to influence decision making in the political arena (Primomo & Bjorling, 2013). The importance for political advocacy can be strengthened through experiential learning. Educational strategies applied to bedside clinicians and student students will be presented.