Nurse involvement in political policy is essential because it ensures that standard and quality health care is facilitated for all citizens. Nurses can get involved in policy and politics through voting, engaging in nursing operations that involve political issues, writing articles involving health affairs to ministers, and also by assuming a leadership position in the healthcare system (Wilson et al., 2020). It is evident in a real-life situation that most nurses engage only in low-intensity actions such as voting and are reluctant of engaging in high-intensity levels of policymaking Therefore, political activism for nurse practitioners is a significant step to perfecting the healthcare sector.
Lack of nurse involvement in legislation results in unpleasant working conditions for nurses, lack of vital resources in medical institutions, such as medications, and substandard patient care. Political activism in nursing entails a plan for nurses to become vital in creating, impacting, and supporting healthcare policy that influences the health of citizens (Florell, 2020). Activism can be achieved by involving healthcare policy education as a subject in nursing schools, and nursing institutions engaging in policy changes hence acting as an epitome for their students. Besides, employers can also encourage political activism by offering employed nurses time and opportunities to influence the nation and federal policy (Salvage et al., 2020). Political activism is essential because it creates awareness regarding the importance of nurses engaging in the political system.
In conclusion, it is evident that political activism plays a major role in the nursing industry. It inspires nurses to participate in politics with the intent of enhancing people’s welfare by providing them with high-quality, standardized healthcare. Additionally, education pertaining to the political system in nursing schools is essential because it helps nurses to raise issues affecting them. It also encourages them to engage in both low and high-intensity levels of policymaking.
References
Wilson, D. M., Anafi, F., Kusi-Appiah, E., Darko, E. M., Deck, K., & Errasti-Ibarrondo, B. (2020). Determining if nurses are involved in political action or politics: A scoping literature review.Applied Nursing Research 54:151279. Web.
Salvage, J., & White, J. (2020). Our future is global: nursing leadership and global health.Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem, Web.
Florell, M.C (2020). Concept analysis of nursing activism. Nursing Forum, 56(1), 134-140.