HP4005: Advocacy for Policy Change
Overview
For this Performance Task, you will select a policy that relates to your personal practice and draft a letter to a state or federal legislator explaining your stance and offering recommendations on how best to improve the policy.
Access the following to complete this assessment:
American Association of Colleges of Nurses. (n.d.). From patient advocacy to political activism: AACN’s guide to understanding healthcare policy and politics (2–16; 22–23). Washington D.C. Retrieved September 14, 2017
American Nurses Association. (2017). Federal issues. Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/advocacy/federal/
Open States. (n.d.). Find your legislator. Retrieved September 13, 2017, from https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/
USA.gov. (n.d.). How to contact your elected officials. Retrieved September 13, 2017, from https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
Instructions
Letter to a Legislator
As one of more than 3.6 million nurses in the United States, you are in the unique position to share your professional insights to influence policy at all levels of government. Aiding important initiatives to gain state and national attention is an important part of professional nursing advocacy. After all, as the No. 1 most trusted profession in the country (Norman, J., 2016), nurses can really make a difference in the policy arena to effectively advocate for patients.
One way to ensure effective advocacy is to contact and enlist the support of those in positions of power. In this Assessment, you will compose a 1- to 2-page letter concerning a local, state, or national policy that is similar to those that come across the desks of legislators every day.
This activity allows you to share your nursing expertise with a legislator and to inform that legislator of current research that supports a policy position.
Step 1: Choose a local, state, or national policy issue that is of concern to you. Consider using the healthcare policy that you discussed in HP4001, or go to the American Nurses Association (ANA) web page—Nursing Legislative Issues and Trends at http://www.nursingworld.org/StateLegislativeAgendaReports.aspx—to read about current nursing policy issues in the United States.
Step 2: Locate legislators or policymakers in your city, state, or country who you will contact regarding your selected policy. You can find a list of local legislators in the United States at:
Open States. (n.d.). Find your legislator. Retrieved September 13, 2017, from https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/
USA.gov. (n.d.). How to contact your elected officials. Retrieved September 13, 2017, from https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
Step 3: Draft a letter suggesting a change.
Read pg. 22—23 of the AACN’s “From Patient Advocacy to Political Action: AACN\'s Guide to Understanding Healthcare Policy and Politics” to view a sample letter.
Using the AACN sample letter as a guide, format your letter using the following guide:
Describe your education and career experiences;
Describe your qualifications and expertise in a policy area using at least two examples;
Analyze the critical role nurses play in improving care as they are at the point of care;
Summarize the key points of your chosen policy;
Defend your stance on the policy using at least two current, scholarly resources in support of your position; and
Recommend at least two actions for change with regards to the selected policy.
Note: Be respectful, professional, and direct with your written request. Avoid using arguments of emotion, and focus only on those arguments based in fact.
