Question

It is vital for nurses to get involved and understand the political spheres that guide change within the industry. Getting involved takes time and effort. At times, nurses find it overwhelming or some find it cumbersome to get involved and to learn. When is a good time to get nurses involved? How can we encourage nurses to step up?

Answer 1

Health care professionals have political skills and active roles in health care leadership. These skills include the following:social skills and the ability to understand, interpret and represent ones own and others behaviour,;the ability, qualifications and power to influence others and make changes; the ability to develop, connect and use different social networks and having a high level of integrity, sincerity and genuiness. Nurses can involve in the policy-making process, by setting an agenda, which involves considering the significance of problem, the political support for addressing the problem and the ability to percieve the viability of proposed alternative solutions for the problem. After the agenda is set, the policy can be formulated. Once formulated, the policy must be adopted or agreed pon before it can be implemented. Only after being implemented can the policy be addressed or evaluated in terms of its effectiveness. The final step is modifying the policy on the basis of the results of the assessment.