The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) (2006), highlights the role of the nurse as an advocate for the patient on a level that goes beyond the individual care that the patient receives. DNP Essentials underscores the role of the nurse as a leader with a responsibility to help policymakers make good decisions about healthcare that will have a positive effect on patient outcomes (AACN, 2006). These essentials are reduced to seven basic principles that involve advocacy, education, and serving in an advisory role regarding healthcare policies. The following outlines how I plan to incorporate these seven essentials into my nursing practice. The Nurse’s Unique Role In Healthcare

The nurse is in a unique position in that they can see the effects of national and community scale policies in the “real world” setting (Abood, 2007). They are in a place to see firsthand the effects of rising healthcare costs, declines in access, and quality issues that have a direct effect on patient outcomes (Abood, 2007). The nurse has a responsibility to take action and find opportunities to bring about system-wide changes that will have a positive effect on the patients that they care for on a daily basis. Gaining a deeper understanding of this role as a moderator between healthcare policy and real patients is a responsibility that goes beyond the basic daily needs of the patient.

One of the first actions that must be taken in regard to this role, is to educate oneself on the major issues that affect patient care. The rising costs of medical care are a key concern in the current consumer-driven system. The insurance companies have been held responsible for many of these rising costs, as they have removed the patients from sensitivity to the costs and effectiveness of treatments and procedures (Jost and Hall, 2005). Consumer-driven healthcare advocates believe that making the patient more responsible for a larger portion of the cost will make them more selective in the services that they choose to utilize (Jost and Hall, 2005).

From a macro perspective, it is easy to see how this would seem to be a logical solution to the problem. However, the nurse has a unique perspective to see the patient that does not receive care because they cannot afford their portion of the bill. The nurse can also see the results of the patient that did not seek treatment for an illness in the early stages, such as cancer, but chose to wait until the treatment was costlier, more involved, and less likely to result in a positive outcome. The nurse practitioner must utilize this unique position to advocate for solutions that will better serve the healthcare industry as a whole and the needs of the individual patients.

In accordance to DNP Essential No. 1, this means taking active measures to stay abreast of proposed changes in healthcare policies on a provider level, community level, regional level, and national level. This may mean subscribing to, or at...

Another way to do this is through joining professional organizations that keep their members up-to-date on upcoming policy changes.
Developing leadership in this area involves staying abreast of the changes and taking action to make certain that the voice of the nurse, who is in continual contact with real-world patients, has a voice in these discussions. Participating in committees, boards, and task forces on many different levels of the system is another way to help affect policy in a way that will advocate for improved patient outcomes. The nurse leader can serve as the voice of others in this capacity by gathering the experiences of others within the profession, allowing them to bring their voice into policy influence and advocacy, even if they are unable to participate themselves.

Nursing Care and Consensus

The consensus model plays a big role in professional development and advocacy. Organizations have reached an overall consensus about what is required for licensure, accreditation, certification, and education of advanced practice registered nurses under the acronym LACE (Yoder-Wise, 2010). Reaching consensus among groups is one way to assure consistency in the care that patients will receive, regardless of the region or healthcare facility. However, reaching a national consensus is often more difficult in practice than in theory. For instance, various facilities will allow nurses of various certifications and licenses to teach. For instance, some require an advanced degree, while others do not (Yoder-Wise, 2010).

This makes it difficult to assure that the nurses are receiving at least a minimal level of knowledge, or that they are all receiving the same knowledge. These differences in training result in differences in patient care that could have a significant impact on patient outcomes. Developing a national consensus is another area where the nurse practitioner can advocate and have a significant influence on developing effective education and professional development that will allow the patient some assurance of consistency in the healthcare that they receive, regardless of the region or the facility.

The Nurse as An Educator

One of the most significant items that was brought to my attention through this course and its readings is that policymakers may have some medical or nursing background, but many times the laws are in the hands of those that have little experience. Therefore, they must rely on others to educate them about the effects of any future policies and the impact that they would have on the daily lives of patients and nurses.

It is easy to become isolated and think that everyone knows everything that you do about healthcare topics and issues facing the healthcare system today. However, it is important to assess the level of knowledge…