NURS 6050 Week 2 Assignment

WEEK 2

Nursing leadership is a vast specialty, ranging from undergraduate to graduate school; it differs significantly from a nurse who wants to excel in a healthcare institution, to someone who wanted to specialize in a certain field, or to another individual who wants to work “side by side” with the doctors. According to American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 2012), The Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) is a leader in healthcare delivery across all settings, not just in acute care. Implementation of this role will vary across settings . Nurs 6050 Week 2 Assignment.  It all comes down to one thing. Further education and training are needed to advance and prepare these nurses in delivering quality health care across the spectrum.

One research priority that the IOM noted that particularly applies to me is the Identification of the influence of nursing on important health care decisions at all levels. I would want to be more specific as for the roles of APRN in the hospital setting. My main reason for continuing education towards attaining my Masters in Nursing specializing in Family Nurse Practitioner is the drive to do more for the patients. I have found out that I really wanted to pursue this career when I started working in the Emergency Room and discovered how much more independent I become in using my critical thinking, even though there’s a doctor’s availability 24/7, the setting in ER makes you think three steps ahead, fast paced, with sets of protocols to follow but also very instinctive in nature. Being a competent nurse, most of the time you expect what the doctors are going to order or what treatments will best benefit the patient. I learned to stand up for myself and my judgment and to question the providers if I think that the orders are doubtful. Nurs 6050 Essay Assignments . Then I found myself wanting to do more, especially being around the mid-level practitioners as we call it, our Nurse Practitioners cut ER wait times and speed up the process of ER visits for patients; I know what I wanted to do next, to go back to school and further my education.

Along with the autonomy and authority comes with the challenges of becoming a nurse practitioner, one of which is APRN’s are not as appreciated in the field. I still see physicians that talk down to NP’s or physician specialists that would come to ER, who would not even want to acknowledge their assessment of the patient and would only take it from another fellow physician even though the NP’s are the ones that saw the patient and treated their condition. As per  Schadewaldt, Mcinnes, Hiller and Gardner (2014), “Recent definitions of collaboration in the literature describe it as being based on communication, shared decision-making and the respect and equality of team members. However, research demonstrates a tension between this theoretical ideal and how collaboration between nurse practitioners and medical practitioners occurs in practice. Nurs 6050 Week 2 Assignment. Different socialization processes of the two professions and legislative requirements influence collaborative practice. The way these two professions overcome traditional boundaries and realize collaborative practice in the primary healthcare setting needs to be examined”. Currently, there are not many types of research available regarding this topic that would discuss personal experiences and observation relating to the collaboration of medical practitioners and nurse practitioners. Nurs 6050 Week 2 Assignment.

Also, there are patients would request to “see the doctor” and some that does not give the NP’s much credit because they are “not doctors”. If only the public will be educated by what nurse practitioners do and if only they would notice that most of the NP’s listen and spends more time with them as much as physicians do. According to Sherman and Pross (2010), The establishment of a healthy work environment requires strong nursing leadership at all levels of the organization, but especially at the point of care or unit level where most front line staff work and where patient care is delivered.

Traditionally, nurses have been viewed by the general public as doctor’s assistants that “carry out doctor’s orders” and not as professionals who have independent practice with increased autonomy. To meet the challenges of health care demands and the shortage of experienced nurse leaders, we must “assume primary responsibility for personal and professional growth through efforts that continue individual education and opportunities that develop and advance the exercise of leadership skills” (Porter-O’Grady, 2011). Nurs 6050 Week 2 Assignment.

Reference

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2012, May 29). Clinical Nurse Leader (pdf file). Retrieved from aacn.nche.edu

Sherman, R., & Pross, E. (2010, January 31). Growing Future Nurse Leaders to Build and Sustain Healthy Work Environments at the Unit Level. Retrieved from nursingworld.org: http://nursingworld.org/RSS/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol152010/No1Jan2010/Growing-Nurse-Leaders.html

Schadewaldt V., Mcinnes E., Hiller J.E. & Gardner A. (2014, May). Investigating Characteristics of Collaboration between Nurse Practitioners and Medical Practitioners in Primary Health Care: A Mixed Methods Multiple Case Study Protocol. Journal of Advanced Nursing 70(5), 1184–1193.

Porter-O’Grady, T. (2011, May). Future of Nursing Special: Leadership at all Levels. Nursing Management, 42(5), pp. 32-37. Nurs 6050 Week 2 Assignment.

The 2010 healthcare reform act (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or PPACA) gives nurses new opportunities to deliver care and play an integral role in leading change. (See http://championnursing.org/sites/default/files/nursingandhealthreformlawtable.pdf.) Understanding these opportunities is just the first step. We need to know how we can be part of the solution to achieve better patient outcomes at a more reasonable cost. We need to do more to prevent disease; provide chronic care management to an aging, sicker, and more diverse population; and offer end-of-life care that emphasizes comfort and compassion. Across all settings—especially geriatrics—we must do more to prepare ourselves for the future.

In this article, I outline nine challenges that individual nurses and our profession must address if we are to help lead our country to a healthcare system that is more equitable and provides a higher quality of care. (For a flowchart of these challenges, see Nurse’s role in reforming healthcare by clicking on the PDF icon above.)

1. Use nurse-led innovations. Nurses know how to expand access to care and improve quality at lower cost. We’ve developed innovative care models to prove it, including nurse-managed health clinics, home visiting programs for low-income mothers, and the Transitional Care Model (TCM). By emphasizing the use of master’s-prepared nurses to oversee care from the hospital to within the home, this model has reduced rehospitalizations for elderly patients with multiple chronic conditions. Research shows that using the TCM helps patients achieve better long-term health outcomes and avoid repeat hospitalizations, all at a reduced cost. We need more nurses to develop innovations. (For good examples to follow, visit www.aannet.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3303.)
2. Generate evidence and engage in research. Nurses play important roles as innovators who help shape quality and safety. Successful models aren’t born, implemented, or sustained without solid effectiveness data. It’s up to all nurses to collect and track data to improve their own practice as part of broader efforts to improve care. Nursing research helps build the scientific foundation for clinical practice, prevention, and improved patient outcomes. Nurs 6050 Week 2 Assignment.
   We must support nurse researchers through adequate funding. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is doing this by funding the Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative, a program that links evidenced-based nursing care to improved patient outcomes.
3. Redesign nursing education. All nurses need to possess basic competencies to meet the demands of an aging and diverse society, with an emphasis on clinical training in multiple settings across the lifespan. The emphasis should be on quality and safety, evidence-based practice, research, and leadership. Several RWJF programs are working to incorporate these concepts into nursing education, including Quality and Safety in Nursing Education, the New Jersey Nursing Initiative, and the Nurse Faculty Scholars program. Therefore, we need to remove barriers to attaining baccalaureate and advanced degrees, such as by strengthening partnership links between community colleges and upper-division degree-granting institutions and all academic institutions and practice organizations. The RWJF-funded Center to Champion Nursing in America is providing technical assistance to help with academic progression. A standardized residency program would give nurses on-the-job learning and would better prepare them for clinical practice. Certification and continuous learning opportunities are essential to a profession that’s responsible for others’ lives.
4. Expand the scope of practice. Advanced practice nurses (APNs) must be allowed to practice to the full extent of their education and licensure. Working with physicians, they can provide cost-effective care and help address the primary care shortage. However, statutory and regulatory barriers prevent them from practicing to the full extent of their licensure. With 32 million Americans about to receive health insurance under PPACA, it’s crucial that APNs be permitted to provide the primary care they’re trained to give. Nurs 6050 Week 2 Assignment.
5. Diversify our workforce. Approximately 33% of our population belongs to a racial or ethnic minority group, and by 2042 minorities will account for a majority of the U.S. population. To reduce health disparities, greater efforts must be made to ensure that the nursing workforce reflects patients’ diverse backgrounds and cultural values. Furthermore, all nurses should be educated to provide culturally competent care. Finally, we need to bring more men into the profession. The goal of RWJF’s New Careers in Nursing program is to provide scholarships to students from diverse backgrounds to attain baccalaureate and masters degrees.
6. Embrace technology. We must learn to use the new­est medical technology and electronic documentation systems to improve quality. Nursing schools should use simulation labs and take advantage of online classes to educate more students. Nurses are frequent technology users; more of us need to be at the table to help make decisions about designing and purchasing the technologies that help patients the most. The RWJF Technology Drill Downs program provides a process that enables nurses to identify and apply technology solutions to improve patient care.
7. Foster interprofessional collaboration. Teamwork and collaboration are critical to seamless high-quality care. The process begins with understanding the roles and responsibilities of each healthcare discipline. Understanding—and the trust it fosters—must start in joint nursing and medical school training programs, and continue as a cultural norm in practice settings.
8. Develop leadership at every level. Nurses should have the opportunity to take on leadership activities whether they practice at the bedside or sit in the boardroom. They must believe they are capable and fully empowered to provide excellent care and make the changes necessary to improve ineffectual systems. Physicians and administrators must support nurses in their efforts. Most of all, nurses need to help each other through mentoring, educational and skills development opportunities, and support networks.
9. Be at the table. As the healthcare professionals most actively engaged in direct patient care, nurses are positioned to provide leadership in all healthcare areas, including developing systems to reduce medical errors, improving quality, providing better care coordination, increasing access to care, and averting workforce shortages. Yet clinical experience isn’t enough. To serve as successful and knowledgeable board or committee members, nurses must be familiar with governance, strategy, fundraising, financial systems, health law, and policy. Always say “yes” when asked to be at the table. If you believe you’re ready but haven’t been asked, then ask to be involved in a board or committee of interest. Nurse Leaders in the Boardroom, another RWJF program, is working to bring more nurses into leadership positions at the local, state, and national levels.

^{SOLVED: NURS 6050 Week 2 Assignment Assignment: Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief}

Access to Mental Healthcare

Walden University  

Introduction

Public policies structured and passed by governmental units play a significant role in the public’s access to healthcare and clinical professionals and practitioners’ relative delivery. Health policies that the U.S. government has approved must be carried out to establish effective healthcare services and regulations that benefit the country’s citizens. The U.S. healthcare system heavily relies on nurses’ service as they have adept skills in communication, biomedical science, education, psychology, and direct patient care (Milstead & Short, 2019). Thus, nursing is a critical stage in carrying out health and social policies for the public’s benefit. One of the country’s healthcare system’s significant concerns is delivering adequate and accessible mental healthcare services NURS 6050 Week 2 Assignment Assignment: Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief. According to Russell (2010), one in four Americans aged 18 and above have a mental illness or diagnosable mental disorder. This rate tallies to around 26% of Americans who are diagnosed within a given year. The prevalence of such mental illnesses calls for more health policies to address the public health issue and provide adequate care to those with such illnesses.

The purpose of this paper is to underscore the significance of health policies relating to mental healthcare and dissection of possible mental healthcare agendas that can help provide effective nursing care. Tangent to this, the paper compares the mental healthcare policies that were addressed over three presidential terms. This paper also intends to discuss and compare the agendas, and budget allocation accomplished by former U.S. Presidents Trump, Obama, and Bush and establish which policies were most effective under the three political reigns. From this information, the paper gathers an in-depth analysis of mental healthcare and nurses’ role in helping political bodies provide the most effective healthcare services and agendas

NURS 6050 Week 2 Assignment Assignment: Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief-Agenda Comparison Grid

Agenda Comparison Analysis

After analyzing all three administrations, it was observed that the three presidents were able to pass agendas that were inclined towards providing mental healthcare services to address the rise in the prevalence of this health issue among the U.S. population. Although the initiative of former President Bush to carry out a governing commission to regulate the provision of mental healthcare services (Hogan, 2003), the target of the commission was less inclusive of the more significant population as it focused mainly on treatment through pharmaceutical medication (Mills et al., 2006) NURS 6050 Week 2 Assignment Assignment: Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief.

The best possible administrative agency most likely to address the healthcare issue is the Obama administration basing on the number of ameliorated mental health cases alone. According to the Executive Office of the President (2016), mental healthcare services became more accessible to the population, rounding up to about 15 million people more because of the ACA. The budget allocated for promoting low-cost, accessible health insurance through the ACA and the MHPEA allowed an estimated 62 million people for mental healthcare (Frank, Beronio, & Glied, 2014). However, it is essential to note that there were several gaps in delivering mental healthcare insurance as many individuals suffered from the consequences of higher tax payments and mandated insurance.

The issues raised during the Trump administration concerning the need for a reform of the ACA were relevant to addressing these concerns. However, drastic changes were made by the Trump administration, which caused a significant decline in the budget for mental healthcare (Milstead & Short, 2019) and an overall decreased accessibility ruling out the initial objectives of ACA NURS 6050 Week 2 Assignment Assignment: Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief.

Overall, the Obama administration was closer to providing mental healthcare and thus is the most likely responsible for carrying out services for the issue. However, the Trump administration’s points must be addressed to devise budget solutions that anticipate budgeting concerns and alleviate the probability of higher tax collection. Taken from the agenda of President Bush (Hogan, 2003), the best possible sponsor for the success of tackling mental healthcare issues is a governing commission that can integrate the help of mental health organizations and institutions in devising the provisions and regulations for the benefit of the patients and beneficiaries without monetizing any service or support. 

Narrative

Healthcare policies legislated by the government have significant impacts on citizens’ individual lives, especially those having limited access to proper healthcare. One of the country’s recent health issues today is the prevalence of mental health illness and inadequate support and healthcare service. Earlier data from 2010 showed about 40 million adults suffering from mental health disorders (Russel, 2010) NURS 6050 Week 2 Assignment Assignment: Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief. Last 2019, the rate was observed to increase as the National Institute of Mental Health reports that almost one out five adults in the U.S. have a mental illness, which correlates to about 51.5 million adults in the population (NIMH, 2019). This data alone suggests the need for more support, medication, treatment, and other health services to alleviate the prevalence of such conditions. Providing a specific agenda for advancing mental healthcare can steadily provide millions from the population with adequate mental healthcare to improve the mental health state of these patients and decrease the increasing rate of suicide.

Mental healthcare requires the skills and expertise of mental health professionals trained to provide care and treatment for their patients. Among these professionals are nurses who directly contact these patients and have professional communication, education, medical training, psychology, and patient care (Milstead & Short, 2019). Because of this, nurses play a critical role in carrying out policies that can discuss regulations, provisions, and enhancements tailored to patient needs. According to Mrayyan and Huber (2003), nurses are actively committed to ensuring their patients’ health, which is supported by the statement of the president of the American Nurses Association, saying that “nurses are the quality and safety monitors.” Since nurses carry the responsibility of improving patient outcomes, they can directly observe which policies pose optimal care delivery effectiveness NURS 6050 Week 2 Assignment Assignment: Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief. Through this observation, Ellenbecker and Edward (2016) suggest that nurses conduct research that can present evidence for policy-makers to be well-informed and knowledgeable about patient conditions.

Conclusion

Legislators hold a critical responsibility to deliver policies and agendas that can benefit the entire population. Policies made for healthcare have a significant role for the country as citizens push the need for accessible medical service (Milstead & Short, 2019). The effects of proper healthcare predetermine the effectiveness of serving citizens of the country. The government must adhere to policies and agendas that can deliver optimal healthcare for patients without compromising the country’s socioeconomic aspects. In line with this, mental health is one of the public and global health issues that require further analysis and support as it continues to increase in rate (Department of Health and Human Services, 2021). Mandating medical and mental healthcare policies requires the help of legislators and the aid of medical health professionals, especially nurses, who have firsthand knowledge of the needs of patients. Through this inclusive, multidisciplinary approach in policy-making, the government can improve solutions and responses to citizens’ needs for medication, treatment, support, education, and care NURS 6050 Week 2 Assignment Assignment: Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief.

References

Canady, V. A. (2019). Proposed FY 2020 budget reveals critical cuts in MH supports. Mental Health Weekly, 29(11), 4–5. https://doi.org/10.1002/mhw.31819

Department of Health and Human Services. (2021). FY 2021 President’s Budget for HHS.

Ellenbecker, C. H., & Edward, J. (2016). Conducting Nursing Research to Advance and Inform Health Policy. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 17(4), 208–217. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527154417700634

Executive Office of the President. (2016). The Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Task Force.

Frank, R. G., Beronio, K., & Glied, S. A. (2014). Behavioral Health Parity and the Affordable Care Act. Journal of Social Work in Disability & Rehabilitation, 13(1-2), 31–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/1536710x.2013.870512

Hogan, M. F. (2003). The President’s New Freedom Commission: Recommendations to Transform Mental Health Care in America. Psychiatric Services.

Lenzer, J. (2004). Bush plans to screen whole US population for mental illness. BMJ, 328(7454). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.328.7454.1458

Lenzer, J. (2005). Bush unveils mental health action plan. BMJ, 331(7517). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.331.7517.592-a

Mills, C., Stephan, S. H., Moore, E., Weist, M. D., Daly, B. P., & Edwards, M. (2006). The President’s New Freedom Commission: Capitalizing on Opportunities to Advance School-Based Mental Health Services. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 9(3-4), 149–161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-006-0003-3

Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: a nurse’s guide. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Mrayyan, M. T., & Huber, D. L. (2003). The Nurse’s role in Changing health policy related to patient safety. JONA’s Healthcare Law, Ethics, and Regulation, 5(1), 13–18. https://doi.org/10.1097/00128488-200303000-00006 NURS 6050 Week 2 Assignment Assignment: Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief

NIMH. (2019). Mental Illness. National Institute of Mental Health.

Russell, L. (2010). Mental Health Care Services in Primary Care: Tackling the Issues in the Context of Health Care Reform. Center for American Progress.

SAMHSA. (2020). Executive Order Saving Lives Through Increased Support for Mental and Behavioral Health Needs. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Sundararaman, R. (2009). The U.S. Mental Health Delivery System Infrastructure: A Primer. Congressional Research Service.

Assignment: Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief