02 Dec Nurses are the backbone of healthcare.
Nurses are the backbone of healthcare. Every day we advocate for our patents by making sure that a patient care plan is appropriate, providing resources to patients and family, teaching patients and ensuring safe patient care. All nurses advocate however most nurses are not lobbyists. This discussion post will be discussing the definition of advocate and lobbying is as well as the similarities and differences and why they are important. I will also discuss how organizations such as The American Geriatrics Society advocate for health care policies.
Advocacy and lobbying have a variety of definitions however they are generally all the same. Advocacy can be defined in the terms of healthcare as any action such as educating a patient, supporting or defending on behalf of a patient and improving and showing the impact of this idea action or issue (Mason et. al., 2021). It is also making your voice heard on an issue that affects lives locally and nationally (Cronn et. Al., 2022). There are some similarities with the definition of lobbying however they are not quite the same. Advocacy deals more on the care of the patient including the safety of the patient and protecting the patient’s rights. Lobbying deals more with influencing healthcare policy outcomes nationally rather than the individual patient. Healthcare policy’s do however affect a patient access to healthcare and influences the care they receive. This is why nurses should and need to be involved in lobbying for healthcare policies because it affects the care of patients. Lobbying involves a set of standards and regulations that lobbyists and clients must adhere to (Mason et. al., 2021) The definition of lobbying is actions that influence a politician or public official on an issue (Cronn et. Al., 2022). This can be asking the public to support legislation or bill to influence changes in healthcare policies. Nurses have the potential to influence lawmakers on the effects that an issue has on the population health (Cronn et. al., 2022). Despite these differences advocacy and lobbying are similar. The main similarity is that they both influence the quality of healthcare that patients receive and influence how nurses give quality care. Nurses who are lobbyists can also be advocates of healthcare. Both advocates and lobbyists need to be able to communicate effectively with policymakers the issue that are trying to influence. Nursing lobbyists/ advocates should avoid using medical jargon that policy makers do not understand (Mason et. al., 2021). Medical jargon distracts from the issue and how it relates to their constituents.
Lobbyists may represent groups of interest that pertain to issues that they feel need to be addressed. Nurses as lobbyists influence change in healthcare therefore can bring foreword issues that need to be addressed in congress. Organizations or interest groups operate with a political action committee (PAC). A PAC is committee that raises money and dictates where the money is spent to influence political outcomes (Mason et. al., 2021). The purpose of a PAC is to represent businesses or areas of interest or issues. They receive their money from individuals or organizations to ensure that the appropriate candidate is elected to increase the chances of policies of interest to be passed into law. An example of an organization who lobbies and advocates is The American Geriatrics Society. The American Geriatrics Society is a nonprofit organization that helps to educate and advocate for patients by using research on best practice interventions. As an organization they use evidence-based research to advocate for elderly patients. The American Geriatrics Society found an opportunity to advocate for dementia patients during the COVID pandemic. The “no visitor” policy that was put into place in skilled nursing facilities as well as hospitals harmed patients with dementia. Theses are patients who in unfamiliar environments are more confused and at risk for falls and physical injury. Patients in this environment benefit from the presence of familiar caregivers (Pandit & Walke, 2021)
In conclusion the definitions of advocates and lobbying are different in the way they influence healthcare policies however they are in some ways similar in that they both directly influence the healthcare quality that patients receive. A nurse is a patient advocate everyday however nurses are not always lobbyists. Nurse lobbyists are important almost as much as being an advocate as they influence the healthcare workforce and the care of patients.
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