Essays On Policy Making Process

Given the position and the well earned respect for nurses by the American public (The Gallup poll has shown that nurses are top ranking when it comes to 'Honesty and Ethics in profession').All these factors are evidence that the nurses can indeed influence the healthcare policy and the policy makers.Nurses must therefore move from the reactive response approach to a more strategically planned approach with regard to the changing healthcare policies.

The American healthcare system has been facing numerous challenges.

The sudden paradigm shift from a healthcare system based on provision of quality care to one that is guided by the market based economic models, has led to the urgent need for the health care reforms.

One of the major problems that were faced by the US healthcare system was the increasing customer demand for reduced healthcare costs and the adoption of a structured business plan, played a role in the erosion of the public's concept of an ideal healthcare as that of humanitarian service.

This particular flawed model led to increased nursing malpractice law suits and even patient errors (This was described by the American Hospital Association as the 'worst disaster to hit the American hospitals', and this was in the year 1995.

It can be argued that the current healthcare system is on the brink of collapse and all the positive aspects of this system maintained.

It is also undeniable that the registered nurses (RN) are the key ingredient to a better health care policy.

Last year alone there were 40,285 qualified applicants who were denied student positions within the baccalaureate and nursing programmes.

The reason for this is because of limited faculty positions of about 7.6% (source: Special Survey on Vacant Faculty Positions by AACN in July 2008) The problem of the nursing shortage can be resolved through the following measures Increasing the number of qualified and highly educated nurses (specifically those with a baccalaureate degree or possible higher) ); the reason for this recommendation is because of the increase in acute patients who suffer from multiple health complications e.g.

The alliances create or result to the creation of a bigger impact.

Nurses must be very decisive in their approach to health care policies and this can be done through them taking an active role in making recommendations to health care bills when they are brought to the public for consultations.