Political Ideology and Philosophy
The book provides the deeper understanding of the connection between the occupations of nurses and ideological and political concepts. Being aware of the philosophical and political themes, the nurses will be able to develop better work strategies and perspectives. The authors note the role of the political philosophy and ideology in the issues concerning gender and race.
The authors highlight the question of individuals and states and present the major ideas described by Thomas Hobbes, John Lock, and Jeremy Bentham. Hobbes focused his attention on the significance of the role of the government in the life of the society. As the matter of fact, the philosopher claims that the community would live in chaos without the governance.
The theory can also be applied to the nursing practice, as the government should intervene in the health care system to prevent unlicensed practices that harm the clients (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012, p. 53). In contrast, Lock is sure that the individual rights should receive the priority, and the community requires little governance from the state (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012, p.54). Bentham notes that sometimes right of the individuals contradict, and that is, the government should interfere.
For example, people have the right to smoke, whereas other ones have the right to fresh air. Then the authors focus on the different types of the political ideologies, namely liberalism, conservatism, and socialism. The accent is made on discovering of the major representatives of the philosophers and pivotal objectives that describe each type of the political ideology (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012, p. 55)
The Policy Process
The conceptual models of the presented policymaking provide the better involvement of the nurses into the changing of the system. First and foremost, it should be stated that the “health policy encompasses the political, economic, social, cultural, and social determinants of individuals and populations and attempts to address the broader issues in health care” (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012, p. 61).
The authors provide a bright example that shows how the theory should work in practice. In case that the medical setting lacks nurses and patients have to wait long for receiving the care, the nurses should react to the issue appropriately, namely to work more hours in order to improve the condition. The authors move on to the peculiarities of the policymaking in the United States. It should be stressed that the sphere of the health care faces challenges.
The system of the financial side is complicated as it is decentralized (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012, p. 63). The problems in the state and federal cooperation influence the health care delivery. It was informative to get the better understanding of two models of the policy process, namely the Longest’s Policy Cycle Model and Kingdon’s Policy Streams Model (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012, p. 66).
The major aim of nurses is to improve the health care system, and that is, they should take an active part in changing the policies and influence the reformation process.
Care Transition and the Role of the Research
It is significant to understand the question regarding the care transition better. The authors provide the in-depth analysis of the modern system of the care transition and highlights that the inadequate managing can cost an impressive amount of money (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012, p. 73). However, one should keep in mind that such difficulties can be eliminated using the research as the major tool in shaping political and policy decisions (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012, p. 101).
Policymaking and the Children Health Care
One of the biggest accents is laid upon the problem connected to the policymaking and research for the improvement of the children’s health care. The policymakers who deal with children notice that underperforming and the cost issues became the significant problems in the medicine.
According to the recent researches, a number of fundamental elements influence the development of the brain; among them are poverty, discrimination, or adverse events. The stated problem will affect the child’s development and will have an impressive influence on the future performing (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012, p. 115).
Numerous researches and findings discovered the fact that almost 20% of children have mental problems across the United States (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012, p. 117). It influences their school success and relationship with the community. One of the possible solution described in the book is to increase the awareness of the public regarding the mental disorders, to monitor the risk factors, and to develop the new treatment programs that will contribute to the best outcome.
The researchers highlighted the need to change the policy of the children health care system. However, there are not enough possibilities to check whether all children live in good conditions, do not suffer from the racial discrimination, and have access to the high-quality medicine. The amount of money spend on the development of the children programs is considerably low in comparison to adults and disable (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012, p. 118).
However, it should be noted that nurses are responsible for the professional service delivery and have a significant impact on the public opinion. The nurses should provide the necessary information regarding the mental problems in children, join the groups, and change the policy.
References
Mason, D. J., Leavitt, J. K., & Chaffee, M. W. (2012). Policy & politics in nursing and health care. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier/Saunders.