Question

Describe how the educational level achieved by a nurse or the entry point into professional nursing practice affects the quality and competence of a nurse's participation in policy making.Why it is important for registered nurses to influence the regulatory process? Does the nurses education have influence on their ability to make an impact?

Answer 1

Registered nurses are the major professional group providing citizens with health care today. There are about 2.5 million licensed RNs, and nearly 2 million are employed in the profession. Nurses deliver expert, highly skilled ,caring, evidence-based nursing services to patients to avoid the development of nursing sensitive patient outcomes. Nursing practice has evolved for years with a broad history of serving society, and nursing theorists continue to give direction to the profession of nursing. Nurses are often members of professional nursing organizations and have developed nursing languages, quality indicators, and health care systems to deliver, document, and measure nursing practice delivered to individuals and groups or populations of patients.

As one of the largest group of healthcare providers nurses has more influence over quality of care and bringing positive changes in public health.

Nurses are present in each healthcare setting and they formulate unique policies to be followed by nurses and also guide other healthcare providers.Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Diploma Program,Registered Nurse (RN) Diploma Program,Associate Degree Nurse (ADN) Program,Baccalaureate Degree Program are the programs to be completed to write NCLEX which is the entry level licensure examination by state boards of nursing .The Leaders in nursing strongly believe that future of nursing depends on improving or taking nursing education to higher standard.

Associate degree provides remarkable entry into nursing practice.When the minimum requirement for nurse is increased that may be a step towards quality healthcare. There should be cohesion within nursing practice so that anything formulated new can be achieved. Nurses contribute in planning and decision-making towards the development of effective public, health and nursing policy on all levels.

Professional nursing education from old times contains the concepts of health promotion, disease prevention, health protection, risk reduction, and population-based care in its baccalaureate nursing degree programs, but the scope and depth of such concepts and content are not strongly explained or taught in those programs. Formulated nursing texts are not used universally . Nurses, along with other healthcare providers feel education they received regarding disease prevention was not adequate when compared with knowledge they gained regarding disease treatment or intervention.

High risk environments should be given more attention ,evidence based teaching should be made priority . Epidemiology and environment sciences should be included in nursing programs to achieve disease prevention goal.A nurse has an ability to provide a safe environment for patients in healthcare. So they have an ethical and moral responsibility in engage in policy making which may improve the health standards of nation.