Paper
Monday, November 5, 2007
394
Nurses the Silent Voice in Health Policy
Barbara Sheer, DNSc, FNPC, PNP, FAANP, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| Learning Objective #1: identify challenges to global health leadership. |
| Learning Objective #2: develop leadership skills for policy action. |
Nurses throughout the world are a formidable source in the health care workforce. They provide primary, secondary and tertiary care to patients. They are valuable resources and are responsible for increasing the health of the global community. Yet throughout the world their voice is absent in policy decisions. Their voice is silent in deciding the allocation of needed resources. Their ideas and resources are rarely taped. Why are nurses silent and absent int he policy arena?
This paper explores challenges that hamper the voice of nursing in national, regional and global health decision-making. Challenges to global health leadership include culture, gender, image and lack of communication skills. Strategies and tools for increasing the visibility of nurses as healthcare resources are explored.