DNP Leadership: Patient Advocacy and Executive Competencies

Introduction: The DNP Leadership Role

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) leaders occupy a unique position at the intersection of clinical expertise and organizational influence. This paper examines two dimensions of that role: advocating for patients through policy channels, and demonstrating the five nurse executive competencies established by the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) as observed during a clinical shadowing exercise.

Advocating for Patients Through Policy

Although every organizational and governmental situation is unique and will require different strategies, DNP leaders can leverage their expertise and influence to advocate for patients through multiple policy reforms. Engaging with policymakers to educate them about evidence-based solutions that would enhance clinical outcomes and access — drawing on nurses' frontline perspective — is central to DNP patient advocacy. Likewise, DNP leaders can ensure that patient voices are taken into account during policy discussions while also pushing for the inclusion of nursing viewpoints on advisory committees.

Motivating broader nurse advocacy through voting initiatives, activism, and policymaker outreach can also serve as useful patient advocacy strategies. Beyond using social media platforms for patient advocacy, DNP leaders can write opinion articles for local and mainstream media, as well as collaborate with community partners to launch organizational initiatives that policymakers and like-minded nursing professionals can use to model reforms.

DNP leaders can also take steps to learn about the policymaking process at the local, state, and federal levels to identify those policies most in need of reform to enhance patient care, as well as become active members of professional organizations that lobby for patients and nurses (How Nurses Can Shape Health Policy, 2023). Certainly, one voice can make a difference when heard by the right people, but there is strength in numbers, and professional organizations can help maximize these efforts.

While these measures are not especially novel, DNPs can make a meaningful difference in the decision-making process by ensuring that lawmakers and the general public are educated about the importance of patient-centered policies during an era of razor-thin budgets and cost-cutting initiatives (Manning & Grosso, 2011). Nurses are on the front lines of patient care and understand how policies manifest in real-world practice. As leaders serving patients directly, DNPs have a fundamental responsibility to spearhead advocacy for change grounded in data and lived experience (Frechette et al., 2018).

These types of advocacy efforts are especially needed as artificial intelligence continues to redefine the appropriate role of healthcare providers in a rapidly changing and aging society. Risling and Low (2019) emphasize that "the rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into healthcare delivery has not only provided a glimpse into an enhanced digital future but also raised significant concerns about the social and ethical implications of this evolution" (p. 31). Against this backdrop, it is clear that DNPs can provide lawmakers with the empirical observations needed to help shape patient-centered policies. As Risling and Low (2019) conclude:

AI in Healthcare and the DNP Advocacy Imperative

Nursing leaders have a critical role to play in advocating for the just and effective use of AI health solutions. To fulfill this responsibility, nurses need information on the widespread reach of AI and, perhaps more importantly, how the development, deployment, and evaluation of these technologies can be influenced. (p. 31)

The intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare delivery thus represents one of the most pressing arenas in which DNP advocacy is needed, requiring leaders who can translate clinical realities into policy language that resonates with both technical experts and legislators.

Conclusion

Risling, T. L., & Low, C. (2019). Advocating for safe, quality and just care: What nursing leaders need to know about artificial intelligence in healthcare delivery. Nursing Leadership, 32(2), 31–45.

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