NUR 415 The Engagement & Political Voice Checklist & Shaping Policies Discussion

NUR 415 The Engagement & Political Voice Checklist & Shaping Policies Discussion

NUR415 Discussion post:

Step 1: Complete the engagement and political voice checklist that is attached.

Step 2: Respond to the following questions:

• Do you consider yourself to be politically active?
• Why or why not?
• Do you feel that you are knowledgeable of the political process?
• Should nurses be politically active? Why or why not?
• How can nurses make a difference in the health of their patients and the public by shaping policy?
• What do you hope to learn during this course?

Step 4: Provide a meaningful response to at least two of your peer’s posts Cite any sources in APA 7th edition format.

Response Posts: In your responses to your classmates, contribute to the discussion with your own original opinions based on the classmate’s comments and/or interpretation of the course materials.

For Week 1, you are not required to provide research, a reference, or in-text citations. Use your professional opinion to answer the questions.

NUR415 Student Posts:

Student#1: After filling out the Engagement and Political Voice Checklist, I considered myself politically active. I have done more than half of the things listed in the checklist. I believe that if you know that something wrong is happening around your surrounding, then you should speak about that. Every person has the right to choose whom they want to support politically. I boycott some companies because I don’t agree with their point of view. I peacefully protested also in the past. I honestly think that I am not knowledgeable of the political process but I am trying to learn more about politics.

I personally believe that nurses should be politically active. Our society is, directly or indirectly, dependent on the decisions made by our politicians. As nurses, it is our responsibility to make sure that each individual is able to access healthcare without any difficulty and discrimination. Nurses can make a big difference by participating in political decisions. They can raise their voice against injustice and work to decrease health inequalities. Nurses can educate about the importance of free vaccines and immunization to prevent the spread of various diseases. I hope to learn more about the impact of politics on healthcare and how I can use this information in my career as a nurse. NUR 415 The Engagement & Political Voice Checklist & Shaping Policies Discussion

Student #2: After filling out the Engagement and Political Voice Checklist, I have come to the decision that I am semi politically active. The reasons for that is there are some things that I do and some that I do not. For example; I have always volunterred for enviromental groups, (plant tree’s, clean up beaches, Ect. ). I believe in boycotting certain companies. For example; I would never buy anything made from ivory, and I would never eat shark fin soup. I would not even eat where they sell it. I do vote and encourage others to do so, but I do not wear the pins or have the stickers on my car. I try to be knowledgable on the current political issues of today, but I am by far not an expert. Should nurses be politically active? I think there is to some degree a good thing for nurses to be politically active, for the sole reason of health care. Political decisions may have an effect on many of the social determinants of health, being active can help nurses assist with ensuring that vulnerable people have access to good health care and through taking on leadership roles in the healthcare system or lobbying government officials about legislation that affects the industry, by pursuing formal political training, participate on city councils and committees, and even run for local office, which would be beneficial in helping to shape policies. I would hope to learn more about how polictics can help the nursing industry and how I can be more active.

NUR425 Discussion Post:

Step 1: Chose one of the following specialties of nursing:

• Community Health Nursing
• Public Health Nursing

Step 2: Select either A or B discussion point below and respond to the prompt. SELECT ONE DISCUSSION POINT ONLY.

A. Compare and contrast the chosen specialty (from step 1) to another specialty of nursing practice that you have studied. Chose at least 2 of the following points to discuss and support your views with scholarly evidence: NUR 415 The Engagement & Political Voice Checklist & Shaping Policies Discussion

• Focus of nursing interventions
• Family and client relationships
• Nursing autonomy
• Scope of professional responsibility
• Nursing roles

B. Discuss how nurses working in your chosen specialty (from step 1) impact the health and wellness of vulnerable populations

• Give a specific example from the news or the literature of nurses in the specialty impacting the lives of people in vulnerable populations. Select an example that occurred in the past 30 years.
  • Example: providing triage or other services after Hurricane Katrina

Step 3: In addition to your original post, be sure to provide a meaningful response to at least two of your peers’ posts. Expand on aspects of population-based and community-based nursing as defined by others that are different from or complementary to your own ideas.

NUR425 Student Posts:

Student#1: Public health nurses specialize in striving to improve the health of a population and reduce disease and disability. Public health nurses comprise the largest professional segment of the workplace in public health and are involved in the prevention, education, advocacy, activism, assessment, and evaluation of Public Health. They hold a vital role in the prevention of disease and help to promote community health and safety. (HCMDG, n.d.)

The nursing specialty that I am going to compare and contrast to public health nursing is informatics nursing. The two points of discussion between Public Health Nursing and Informatic nursing will be the focus on nursing interventions and nursing roles. An informatics nurse helps organizations, including hospitals, nursing homes, insurance agencies, and public health agencies, use the services of informatics nurses to manage healthcare data and communications. These nursing specialists, trained in computer science, information technology, and nursing, manage data integration among all healthcare providers to help these organizations increase efficiency and improve patient care. (HCMDG, n.d.) Informatic nurses specialists typically enter the field after earning a BSN degree and receiving their RN license. After completing a BSNM RNs interested in nursing informatics sometimes earn a general MSN degree or an MSN in health informatics Some RNs acquire graduate degrees in information science or computer science. While not required by all employers, obtaining specialized certification in nurse informatics through the American Nurses Credentialing Center can enhance career prospects. (Carroll, W. 2021)

The Public Health Nurse works with particular populations or communities, educating people on health and safety issues and assisting them with access to healthcare. Rather than providing individual patient care, they focus on prevention. They identify health concerns and prioritize safety issues within communities, prepare and implement safety plans, and serve as healthcare advocates.Public health nurses need work experience in community or public health nursing. The only certification available to public health nurses, the Certified Public Health credential, requires a bachelor’s degree, at least five years of public health experience, and successful completion of an exam administered by the National Board of Public Health Examiners. (Carroll, W. 2021).

One specific example of how nurses serve are impacting the lives of those in vulnerable communities their communities that I have observed is the use of nursing students in COVID 19 public health clinics. For students already in a nursing program or who are already practicing nurses, public health nursing offers a variety of opportunities to make significant changes in public health. (HCMDG, n.d.) These first-year nursing students have not been allowed into hospital settings until just recently in my state. Some of their clinical hours are spent in a health department giving the vaccination to those who are eligible. There is a screening form that a person can fill out online that activates an account. When the vaccination is available for that person they are called and assigned a time for their injection. These first-year students learn to interact with the community and get hands-on clinical experience. NUR 415 The Engagement & Political Voice Checklist & Shaping Policies Discussion

Student #2: Public health nurses are more concerned with the health necessities of a population as a whole. Public health nurses understand that numerous factors affect health, including genetics, lifestyle, and surrounding environment. Public health nurses are activists within their communities and focus on disease prevention and education (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2020).

Public health nurses have impacted the lives of people in vulnerable populations. For instance; 16 years ago, when Hurricane Katrina tore across the Gulf Coast, leaving New Orleans unrecognizable, put the public health to test. The city suffered the most devastation leaving the entire population vulnerable. Katrina required public health to respond to a number of issues at once, including: establishing infectious disease prevention, protection, and outbreak control procedures; teaching injury prevention to displaced people; environmental health and safety monitoring of homes, water quality, and shelters; and monitoring of worker and responder safety, among many other issues (Regan, 2018).

As devastating as the storm was, the public health should ensure that not only their communities are prepared, but that the organizations themselves are trained and ready to respond to the next emergency (Regan, 2018).

NUR 415 The Engagement & Political Voice Checklist & Shaping Policies Discussion