COLLAPSEWeek Nine Main Post

Health care policy review or the evaluation process of a healthcare policy is often the one
step of policymaking that is easily overlooked. Although it is often overlooked, does not make
this step any less important than the other steps of health care policy. Policy review is an
extremely important part of health policy that is ongoing from the time a policy is in the design
process (Laureate Education, 2018). Policy review is oftentimes happening even years after a
policy has been made into law and remains the topic of debate. It is the professional duty of a
nurse to evaluate health care policy and continue to address the access, cost and quality of health
care for members of the community (Laureate Education, 2018).
There are several ways RNs and APRNs can become involved in the process of health
care policy evaluation and review. Two of those ways are through the RN or APRNs place of
employment, and secondly, by becoming members of nursing associations such as American
Nurses Association. Health policy evaluation should begin at the time the policy is being
designed and continue throughout implementation of the policy. Health policy evaluation (or
review) measures the effectiveness and efficiency of a health policy. This is important to
measure because the legislation and public should remain aware of the impact a health policy to
be able to make informed choices when they are voting or considering keeping a policy in place.
It is also important that there is ongoing accountability to taxpayers (Burke, 2016). If a health
policy is not showing the efficiency and effectiveness that it should be, then it is time to go back

to the table to find ways to improve and change the health policy, so it is beneficial and cost-
effective (Laureate Education, 2018).
An example of how an RN or APRN can evaluate the effectiveness or efficiency of a
health policy through their workplace is by sharing information on what is or isn’t working to
their nursing supervisor, the union representatives, the board of directors, and other leaders
within the hospital or health care work place so there is more awareness on what is saving a
nurse time versus taking more time, what is most effective with efficient with providing bedside
care to patients, and overall results of a policy that is implemented (Laureate Education, 2018).
An example of how an RN or APRN can evaluate the effectiveness or efficiency of a health
policy through nursing organizations is by sharing information with other members of the
organization and staying informed on health policy change and reform (ANA, n.d).
There are also several challenges that face RNs and APRNs during the health policy
review phase. One of the challenges is that a of times RNs and APRNs are not even aware of a
policy until after it has already been put in place, therefore they are not able to participate in the
design phase of the policy in determining how the health policy will be evaluated ongoing.
Beings RNs and APRNs work very closely with direct patient care they are often more impacted
by health policies put in place (ANA, n.d.).
Nurses have the unique innate ability to naturally advocate for their patients, inform their
patients, and help educate their patients while providing scientific-based information for the
patient to look over themselves and then make an informed decision (ANA, n.d.). Nurses can
empower patients and their families on their healthcare delivery, their rights, and cost-
effectiveness. It is also important for nurses to advocate for their patients by bringing

information they share on how efficient or effective a policy is back to the leaders of hospitals,
clinics, and organizations. It is important for nurses to maintain accountability and to help others
remain accountable (Laureate Education, 2018).
References

American Nurses Association (ANA). (n.d.). Advocacy. Retrieved April 20, 2020
from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/advocacy/
Burke, S. (2016, June 2). Retrieved on April 20, 2020 from https://www.reflections
onnursingleadership.org/commentary/more-commentary/Vol42_2_nurses-
have-a-unique-role
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Peter Beilenson: Ethics and advocacy (Video
File). Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Program Policy and Evaluation (Video File).
Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Importance of Program Evaluation (Video
File). Baltimore, MD: Author

Hey Snyder,

Thanks for this great work. You have done a good job explaining the role of nurses
in policy evaluation. Indeed it is a professional duty of nurses to perform policy evaluation.
Powell & Milstead (2019) add that policy evaluation is not just a professional duty for
nurses but also a moral one. As healthcare professionals who most interact with patients
and their families in multiple settings, nurses are best placed to determine the impact that
healthcare policies have on groups of people they are meant to help – patients, their
families, and the healthcare professionals providing services to them (Powell & Milstead,
2019).
I also like your explanation about the opportunities for policy review that nurses
have. As Milstead and Short (2019) explain, many nurses fail to perform their policy
evaluation role because they do not know how to go about it. As you have mentioned,
joining nurse professional organizations gives nurses an excellent platform to carry out
their policy evaluation roles and bring their findings to people with powers to make the
required modifications, such as legislators. Lastly, with regards to challenges nurses face
when evaluating policies, while I agree that nurse participation in policy design process is
important for effective policy evaluation, I do not consider lack of involvement or
awareness of how a policy was designed to be a major impediment to policy evaluation. As
long as nurses get to know the goals of a given policy, they can effectively determine
whether it is achieving its goals or not even when they have not been involved or been
aware of how the policy was designed.
Wish you all the best
Student

References

Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Informing Public Policy: An Important Role for
Registered Nurses. Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide, 1-16.
Powell, D. L., & Milstead, J. A. (2019). The Impact of Globalization: Nurses Influencing
Global Health Policy. and PolitiCs A Nurse’s Guide, 193.

Stephanie Byers
RE: Discussion – Week 9

COLLAPSE

Discussion WK9 6050-22 Main Post
The evaluation process is a crucial step in formulating a policy or program and can often
dictate its success or demise. Therefore, having the ability to measure outcomes is necessary to
ensure the goal of an application is as intended (Laureate Education, 2018). Fortunately, nurses
contribute to this process daily under our role due to “the foundational theory of the nursing
process includes the critical step of evaluation” (Milstead & Short, 2019, p.117). We can use
these tools to help navigate through the analysis of program planning, assessment, and the
implementation process.

Methods by which nurses can participate in this process is to first, familiarize one’s self
with the evaluation process—being well versed in this phase of the project can aide in the impact
of the overall health initiative (Milstead & Short, 2019). In doing so, nurses can stay abreast of
the factors pertinent to successful outcome criteria. Secondly, nurses can foster policy reform by
supporting professional nursing organizations. Nurses can influence stakeholders and offer
guidance, due to their experience and knowledge in policies to clarify information they may not
readily understand. As a result, politician can make informed decisions (Laureate Education,
2019). Professional nursing organizations provide a platform for uniting nurses voices, which is
beneficial to impacting policy evaluation; and attributes our workforce to being the largest of its
kind (Milstead & Short, 2019).
While keeping the above in mind, challenges are often inherent to any program planning
process. These challenges are partially due to unorganized data collection methods. These
actions create issues of deciphering information obtained (Halstead, 2019). Also, ineffective use
of the data received is another common problem noted hindering evaluation analysis. To offset
these occurrences, nursing professionals should formulate and practice a systematic approach for
data retrieval; by having set times for data to be received. In research findings noted by Halstead
(2019), this is achievable by writing a “systematic evaluation plan” which requires one to have a
definitive timeline, while also holding someone accountable for the gathering and interpretation
of information received. These strategies may be useful in providing transparency for the
communities and stakeholders impacted the most (Milstead & Short. 2019).
Stephanie Byers

References

Halstead, J. A. (2019). Program Evaluation: Common Challenges to Data Collection. Teaching
and Learning in Nursing, 14(3), A6-A7. https://doi-
org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1016/j.tein.2019.04.001
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Importance of Program Evaluation [Video file].
Baltimore, MD: Author.
Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6 th ed.).
Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Hello Byers,
I have enjoyed reading your work. I have also learnt a lot. I agree with you that the
goal of policy evaluation is to determine whether the policy has achieved its objectives or
not. Nurses are perhaps the best placed professionals to perform such kind of evaluation
because they observe the impact of policies on patients and their professional duties almost
on a daily basis (Milstead & Short, 2019).
It is important that you have raised the point about the need for nurses to
familiarize themselves with the policy evaluation process as a way of increasing their
effectiveness in reviewing policies. This is important because nurses need to adhere to
evidence-based practices even when evaluating policies (Linda, 2017). Their
recommendations for policy changes or any form of policy modification will be given more
weight if they are backed up by data. That is why it is important for nurses to learn how to
collect and record important data to be used in policy evaluation.
All the best
Student

References

Linda, T. (2017). Progress in Policymaking. The American Journal of Nursing, 117(1), 10.
Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Informing Public Policy: An Important Role for
Registered Nurses. Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide, 1-16.