HealthPolicyandProfessionalValues
Health Policy and Professional Values
Susan Davis
Texas Tech
November 13, 2014
Health Policy and Professional Values
1. What does Sue need to know about herself to determine how she will make decisions about providing care for indigent persons? Sue is very concerned about the welfare of the underinsured and uninsured population and is well aware of the issues that jeopardize the health of this population. Sue should be aware of her professional values and decide whether to continue to do her best to take care of her patients in the situation she is in, or become involved in the policy making process and become an advocate for change in the health care system. As a nurse, Sue has the power to make a difference. Health care issues that need to be addressed are often resolved only when policy is challenged and changed through the involvement of nurses.
2. In what phase of the policymaking process would Sue enter to initiate changes?
The first step for making health policy changes is to gather information from multiple sources. In this situation, other not-for-profit health care facilities would be an excellent place to research and compile information. When enough information has been obtained, the data can be analyzed. Comparing and analyzing data will show common patterns regarding the population being researched. Once the issues are clearly understood, a plan can be developed with a proposed policy option. The selected policy option will then need to be adopted and implemented. Sue can become involved at any phase of this process to initiate change, but she has valuable information that can be utilized in the information gathering phase and can assist in developing proposed policy changes. By joining a professional nursing organization with a political action committee, Sue can “develop the necessary skills to understand political issues” (Cherry & Jacobs, 2011).
3. How does Sue use a decision-making framework to determine which patients will
Susan Davis
Texas Tech
November 13, 2014
Health Policy and Professional Values
1. What does Sue need to know about herself to determine how she will make decisions about providing care for indigent persons? Sue is very concerned about the welfare of the underinsured and uninsured population and is well aware of the issues that jeopardize the health of this population. Sue should be aware of her professional values and decide whether to continue to do her best to take care of her patients in the situation she is in, or become involved in the policy making process and become an advocate for change in the health care system. As a nurse, Sue has the power to make a difference. Health care issues that need to be addressed are often resolved only when policy is challenged and changed through the involvement of nurses.
2. In what phase of the policymaking process would Sue enter to initiate changes?
The first step for making health policy changes is to gather information from multiple sources. In this situation, other not-for-profit health care facilities would be an excellent place to research and compile information. When enough information has been obtained, the data can be analyzed. Comparing and analyzing data will show common patterns regarding the population being researched. Once the issues are clearly understood, a plan can be developed with a proposed policy option. The selected policy option will then need to be adopted and implemented. Sue can become involved at any phase of this process to initiate change, but she has valuable information that can be utilized in the information gathering phase and can assist in developing proposed policy changes. By joining a professional nursing organization with a political action committee, Sue can “develop the necessary skills to understand political issues” (Cherry & Jacobs, 2011).
3. How does Sue use a decision-making framework to determine which patients will