COLLAPSE

A critical component of any policy design is evaluation of the policy’s results (Laureate
Education, 2018). However, some nurses may be hesitant to get involved with policy evaluation.
The preference may be to focus on the care and well-being of their patients. In doing so, some
nurses may feel ill-equipped to enter the realm of policy and political activities. However, as
examined previously, nurses are better placed to advocate for patients and effective programs
and polices than any other healthcare workers (Glasgow, Lichtenstein, & Marcus, 2003). This
discussion gives a reflection on the role of professional nurses in policy evaluation.
The largest group of healthcare workers/providers are nurses, and it is rightly so because nurses
can provide (engage in) effective evaluation of healthcare policies and programs. There are many
opportunities that currently exist for RNs/APRNs to actively engage in policy review. They can
do so through professional nursing associations or their employers’ policy committees. The ANA
has many visions and missions among which include “lobbying the government for changes on
nursing and health-related issues (Milstead & Short, 2019).”
Nurses’ influence on health policy, through policy evaluation, protects the quality of care by
access to required recourses. Access to resources helps nurses to be aware of the happenings in
health care policy including within their states (Laureate Education, 2018). This kind of
knowledge will help nurses to provide effective feedback to employers or governments to help
provide good shape for health policies and programs. For instance, a nurse can book
appointments with their local legislators to present an evaluation report on a program/ policy

with a focus on measurable outcomes and the policy’s effectiveness while offering their expert
opinion on the policy (Ryan & Rosenberg, 2015).
While these opportunities give nurses an upper hand in policy review, they can present
challenges to the nurses. For instance, the RNs/APRNs may find it difficult to obtain required or
comparative resources for a policy or program that has been implemented, particularly when it is
a new policy/program that lack appropriate data to make comparisons (Milstead & Short, 2019).
Additionally, nurses may face the challenge of limited resources to complete an evaluation of a
program/ policy. These challenges can make it difficult to evaluate the outcome and impact of a
policy/program. Nurses can try to find evidence-based data and information related to the policy
or conduct new studies to combat such lack of data. the nurse can also request for funding or
scholarships to enable them get enough resources to conduct policy evaluation.
How can nurses better advocate for or communicate the existence of these opportunities? As an
RN/APRN, you may consider recommending the incorporation of health policy
advocacy/evaluation as a course in the nursing curriculum that nursing students should complete
to get their license. Secondly, I may consider using Social Media platforms to run campaigns on
the opportunities available for nurses to participate in policy evaluation. Campaigns and
advertisements can be carried out on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram,
Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and blogs. Additionally, Nursing associations and organizations
can also use their websites, on-line chat platforms or webinars to advocate for these opportunities
among nurses and inform nurses of the policies/programs that need to be evaluated so that nurses
can provide the individual expert opinion on the policies/programs.
References

Glasgow, R. E., Lichtenstein, E., & Marcus, A. C. (2003). Why don’t we see more translation of
health promotion research to practice? Rethinking the efficacy-to effectiveness transition.
American Journal of Public Health, 93(8), 1261–1267.
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 (6th ed.).
Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning
Ryan, S. F., & Rosenberg, S. (2015). Nurse practitioners and political engagement: Findings
from a nurse practitioner advanced practice focus group & national online survey.

Reply

Hey Ramil,
Thank you for this well-researched and informative work. As you have explained,
policy evaluation is important because it shows whether a given policy is achieving its
objectives or not. Nurses, being at the frontline of healthcare services provision, have an
important role to play in policy evaluation (Milstead & Short, 2019). However, as you have
pointed, many nurses often shy away from performing their policy evaluation roles. The
belief that policymaking and evaluation is not in their realm but of politicians is certainly a
misconception. Nurse’s role in policy evaluation is part of their professional duty (Powell &
Milstead, 2019). Through the opportunities that you have provided, nurses can play an
important role in policy evaluation and modification.
Regarding nursing challenges, I am particularly impressed by your explanation of
how lack of resources impedes the ability of nurses to collect data for writing policy

evaluation reports. This is a common problem that many nurses who are interested in
policy evaluation face because policy evaluation requires effective data collection. With the
medical community having embraced evidence-based practices, it is important that nurses
too collect evidence to support their policy evaluations.
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.

Gretchen Breese
RE: Discussion – Week 9 Initial Post

COLLAPSE

Policy review assists in determining whether a currently instated policy is effective and still
meeting healthcare needs. Healthcare like many aspects of the world is ever-changing. Without a

review process, current legislation could be out of date and not useful or even be more harmful.
Many policies are written with a review process already in mind. (Laureate Education, 2018). As
we have seen throughout our research of specific policies for this course many policies have a
reform or additions to the legislation after the initial policy was passed. This is an example of the
review process in action. This means someone has reviewed current policy and seen that changes
need to be made to the current policy. The requirement for this review process is critical
especially in a healthcare setting where patient safety is concerned.
There are many opportunities for RN and APRNs to actively participate in the review process.
Nurses just like when the policy is initially made is on the front lines actively working in these
policies, therefore are some of the best to be able to provide a detailed review of how the policy
may be or not be working. This will assist in determining if changes may need to be made. Many
times managers and policymakers have a lack of understanding of the research process and with
RNs on the frontlines, we are able to assist with this. (Linda & Laureen, 2008). Another way
nurses can be active in policy review is by assisting in gathering the data for the review process.
Because many nurses are in daily practice we are able to gather data from our patient interactions
and document this data for further review of a policy working or not working. Both of these
opportunities assist in new policy submissions and review processes.
As with any systems there are challenges, one challenge is data management in order to even
review a policy. One way to overcome this would be an implementation of a healthcare policy
management software. Depending on the topic and policy there can be data gathered and entered
into a system for tracking and analysis in order to evaluate policy. Another challenge may be that
there is a lack of evidence-based studies to determine whether a policy or process is effective.

Better review board studies and planning from the beginning development of a policy is one way
to overcome this challenge.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Importance of Program Evaluation [Video
file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Linda, O.-P., & Laureen, H. (2008). Challenges in getting workforce research in nursing
used for decision-making in policy and practice: a Canadian perspective. Journal of
Clinical Nursing, 24, 3338.

Reply

Hey Breese,
I like the way you have explained important concepts in a simple and
straightforward manner. As you have suggested, healthcare policies are not cast in stone.
Indeed, when they are implemented, it is expected that they will be reviewed later for them
to better address the problem they are meant to solve. Nurses, as healthcare professionals
at the forefront of healthcare services delivery, need to take a leading role in policy review
because they observe first hand a policy’s impact (Linda, 2017). Many nurses, however, fail
to take up opportunities to review important healthcare policies that affect them and their
patients because of lack of knowledge about how to go about it and a wrong belief that
policymaking and review is beyond them (Powell & Milstead, 2019). The example you have
provided about nurses helping in policy review through collecting data in the course of
their patient interactions shows that opportunities for policy review are available to all
nurses, not just those with access to healthcare policy decision-makers, such as politicians.

Good luck
Student

References

Linda, T. (2017). Progress in Policymaking. The American Journal of Nursing, 117(1), 10.
Powell, D. L., & Milstead, J. A. (2019). The Impact of Globalization: Nurses Influencing
Global Health Policy. and PolitiCs A Nurse’s Guide, 193.