NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health care providers by their approach to patient care, training, and scope of practice. Nurses practice in many specialties with differing levels of prescription authority. Many nurses provide care within the ordering scope of physicians, and this traditional role has shaped the public image of nurses as care providers. However, nurse practitioners are permitted by most jurisdictions to practice independently in a variety of settings. Since the postwar period, nurse education has undergone a process of diversification towards advanced and specialized credentials, and many of the traditional regulations and provider roles are changing.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

 

 

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Nurses develop a plan of care, working collaboratively with physicians, therapists, the patient, the patient’s family and other team members, that focuses on treating illness to improve quality of life. In the United States and the United Kingdom, advanced practice nurses, such as clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners, diagnose health problems and prescribe medications and other therapies, depending on individual state regulations. Nurses may help coordinate the patient care performed by other members of a multidisciplinary health care team such as therapists, medical practitioners and dietitians. Nurses provide care both interdependently, for example, with physicians, and independently as nursing professionals.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

Nursing historians face the challenge of determining whether care provided to the sick or injured in antiquity was nursing care.[3] In the fifth century BC, for example, the Hippocratic Collection in places describes skilled care and observation of patients by male “attendants,” who may have been early nurses.[4] Around 600 BC in India, it is recorded in Sushruta Samhita, Book 3, Chapter V about the role of the nurse as “the different parts or members of the body as mentioned before including the skin, cannot be correctly described by one who is not well versed in anatomy. Hence, any one desirous of acquiring a thorough knowledge of anatomy should prepare a dead body and carefully, observe, by dissecting it, and examine its different parts.”

Before the foundation of modern nursing, members of religious orders such as nuns and monks often provided nursing-like care.[5] Examples exist in Christian,NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper[6] Islamic[7] and Buddhist[8] traditions amongst others. Phoebe, mentioned in Romans 16 has been described in many sources as “the first visiting nurse”.[9][10] These traditions were influential in the development of the ethos of modern nursing. The religious roots of modern nursing remain in evidence today in many countries. One example in the United Kingdom is the use of the historical title “sister” to refer to a senior nurse in the past.[11]

During the Reformation of the 16th century, Protestant reformers shut down the monasteries and convents, allowing a few hundred municipal hospices to remain in operation in northern Europe. Those nuns who had been serving as nurses were given pensions or told to get married and stay home.[12] Nursing care went to the inexperienced as traditional caretakers, rooted in the Roman Catholic Church, were removed from their positions. The nursing profession suffered a major setback for approximately 200 years.[13]

There are a number of factors that influence health policy. Health policy can be influenced by crises. Media can influence what gets put on the policy-making agenda or how it’s treated once it gets there. Political ideology. Personal experiences of members of Congress can influence how they respond to a particular health care challenge.The College of Graduate Nursing at WesternU pioneered the delivery of a web-based family nurse practitioner program – the very first of its kind at the time of its inception in 1997. Our hybrid Master of Science in Nursing/Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN/FNP) program integrates online learning with intensive face-to-face seminar weekends and clinical experiences in the students’ own community. Students can obtain their MSN degree and FNP certification in two years (full-time) or three years (extended track).NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

Hospital-based training came to the fore in the early 1900s, with an emphasis on practical experience. The Nightingale-style school began to disappear. Hospitals and physicians saw women in nursing as a source of free or inexpensive labor. Exploitation of nurses was not uncommon by employers, physicians, and educational providers.[23]

Many nurses saw active duty in World War I, but the profession was transformed during the second World War. British nurses of the Army Nursing Service were part of every overseas campaign.[24] More nurses volunteered for service in the US Armyand Navy than any other occupation.[25][26] The Nazis had their own Brown Nurses, 40,000 strong.[27] Two dozen German Red Cross nurses were awarded the Iron Cross for heroism under fire NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

The modern era saw the development of undergraduate and post-graduate nursing degrees. Advancement of nursing research and a desire for association and organization led to the formation of a wide variety of professional organizations and academic journals. Growing recognition of nursing as a distinct academic discipline was accompanied by an awareness of the need to define the theoretical basis for practice.[29]

In the 19th and early 20th century, nursing was considered a women’s profession, just as doctoring was a men’s profession. With increasing expectations of workplace equality during the late 20th century, nursing became an officially gender-neutralprofession, though in practice the percentage of male nurses remains well below that of female physicians in the early 21st century.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

Research findings also can be influential. Special interest groups can exert a lot of influence on what gets put on the health policy agenda. Constituents like each of you who might draw the attention of your policymakers. It might be that you’ll draw the attention of your congressional delegation to a particular problem the you’re saying. So constituents can be a factor that influences health policy.

The authority for the practice of nursing is based upon a social contract that delineates professional rights and responsibilities as well as mechanisms for public accountability. In almost all countries, nursing practice is defined and governed by law, and entrance to the profession is regulated at the national or state level.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

The aim of the nursing community worldwide is for its professionals to ensure quality care for all, while maintaining their credentials, code of ethics, standards, and competencies, and continuing their education.[32] There are a number of educational paths to becoming a professional nurse, which vary greatly worldwide; all involve extensive study of nursing theory and practice as well as training in clinical skills.

Nurses care for individuals of all ages and cultural backgrounds who are healthy and ill in a holistic manner based on the individual’s physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, social, and spiritual needs. The profession combines physical science, social science, nursing theory, and technology in caring for those individuals.

To work in the nursing profession, all nurses hold one or more credentials depending on their scope of practice and education. In the United States, a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) works independently or with a Registered Nurse (RN). The most significant difference between an LPN and RN is found in the requirements for entry to practice, which determines entitlement for their scope of practice. RNs provide scientific, psychological, and technological knowledge in the care of patients and families in many health care settings. RNs may earn additional credentials or degrees.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

 

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In the United States, multiple educational paths will qualify a candidate to sit for the licensure examination as a RN. The Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) is awarded to the nurse who has completed a two-year undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor’s degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years. It is also referred to as Associate in Nursing (AN), Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (AAS), or Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN).[36] The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) is awarded to the nurse who has earned an American four-year academic degree in the science and principles of nursing, granted by a tertiary education university or similarly accredited school. After completing either the LPN or either RN education programs in the United States, graduates are eligible to sit for a licensing examination to become a nurse, the passing of which is required for the nursing license. The National Licensure Examination (NCLEX) test is a standardized exam (including multiple choice, select all that apply, fill in the blank and “hot spot” questions) that nurses take to become licensed. It costs two-hundred dollars to take the NCLEX. It examines a nurses ability to properly care for a client. Study books and practice tests are available for purchase.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

Some nurses follow the traditional role of working in a hospital setting. Other options include: pediatrics, neonatal, maternity, OBGYN, geriatrics, ambulatory, and nurse anesthetists. There are many other options nurses can explore depending on the type of degree and education acquired. RNs may also pursue different roles as advanced practice nurses.

Nurses are not truly doctor’s assistants. This is possible in certain situations, but nurses more often are independently caring for their patients or assisting other nurses.[38] RNs treat patients, record their medical history, provide emotional support, and provide follow-up care. Nurses also help doctors perform diagnostic tests. Nurses are almost always working on their own or with other nurses. Nurses will assist doctors in the emergency room or in trauma care when help is needed.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

Main article: Men in nursing

A nurse at Runwell Hospital, Wickford, Essex, in 1943

Despite equal opportunity legislation, nursing has continued to be a female-dominated profession.[40] For instance, the male-to-female ratio of nurses is approximately 1:19 in Canada and the United States.[41][42] This ratio is represented around the world. Notable exceptions include Francophone Africa, which includes the countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Guinea, Gabon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, and Togo, which all have more male than female nurses.[43] In Europe, in countries such as Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic and Italy, over 20% of nurses are male.[43] In the United Kingdom, 11% of nurses and midwives registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) are male.[44] The number of male-registered nurses in the United States between 1980 and 2000s doubled  NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

This highly skilled profession involves preparing and administering anesthesia to patients in collaboration with surgeons, anesthesiologists, dentists, podiatrists, and other qualified healthcare professionals, according to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

The Campaign for Action works to bring better care and wellness to more Americans by changing laws and policies that prohibit nurses from practicing to the full extent of their education and training. Below are facts you can use to educate others about our efforts.

If you’re an aspiring nurse, you already know that nursing credentials and skills offer you a career path with staying power. Registered nurses are in demand, commanding a median annual wage of $72,180 1 as of May 2016 — and job projections are strong.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

To really thrive, however, many RNs earn additional certifications, go for an advanced degree, and specialize in one particular area of nursing. This increases their earning potential by helping them qualify for positions at more prestigious hospitals. Some advanced practice RNs can even open their own clinics.

To help you decide which career direction is right for you, take a look at some of the highest paying specialties for RNs, what you can earn and how to get started as an advanced practice nurse. Keep in mind that salaries do vary greatly based on location and employer, so the earnings listed below are just a baseline to help with your research.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

The four types of advanced practice registered nurses:

nurse practitioners
clinical nurse specialists
certified registered nurse anesthetists
certified nurse-midwives

APRNs are registered nurses with advanced degrees who have passed national certification exams. Learn who APRNs are.

Twenty-two states allow nurse practitioners to practice without restriction. See other states’ efforts  to update their laws.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

Studies show that better laws mean more Americans enjoy greater access to high-quality health care at a lower cost:

In 2012, the National Governors Association produced a paper supporting its premise that the best way “states could increase access to primary care for their residents is to consider easing their scope of practice restrictions.”

A review of published literature over 18 years on care provided by APRNs shows “APRNs provide effective and high-quality patient care, have an important role in improving the quality of patient care in the United States.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

Separate studies in multiple states show the economic benefits of removing barriers to practice and care; scholars and think tanks make the same case in articles. A Federal Trade Commission report states that “expanded APRN scope of practice is good for competition and American consumers.”

Two webinars, “The Evidence Shows: Better Laws Mean Better, More Accessible Care” and “Progress on the Institute of Medicine Recommendations: More Evidence” provide data showing that the  nation benefits when nurses can practice to the full extent of their education and training.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

Market forces can also be a driver of health policy. In addition, fiscal pressures. So you have a number of different factors then that can influence both what gets put on the policy-making table and how it’s treated once it gets there.

In terms of personal experience, there was a congresswoman, now elected, from the state of Florida who had a close personal friend with a particular disease. And she was pretty public about introducing legislation that would be designed to cover pharmaceuticals that were important to addressing that disease. So here is a member of Congress who has a personal experience that’s influencing what, in this case, she did to address that particular problem of access to pharmaceuticals to treat a particular health care problem.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

So personal experiences matter on the part of members of Congress, believe it or not. It’s not all just about research findings. In addition, constituents’ voices matter. If individuals express their views about a particular health care problem to their elected officials, it behooves elected officials to pay attention.

A lot of times nurses and others think that the only influence that’s exerted or factor that exerts influence in Washington or in a state capital is a special interest influence. I’d suggest to you that’s not really true. There are all the factors that I’ve mentioned. And constituents, that is your own voice, is an extremely important one.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

So don’t dismiss out of hand the impact that you can have as a factor, if you will, in influencing what gets put on the policy-making table and how it’s treated once it’s there. Because at the end of the day, guess what? Policymakers or elected officials are either voted into office or they’re voted out. They are ill-prepared to be unresponsive to what is that their constituents are telling them.

So do all the other factors matter? You bet they do. But your voice matters too.

KATHLEEN M. WHITE: In designing health care policies, nurses have traditionally wanted to be involved. It’s been a great experience for me over 30 some years being a nurse. I think I got actively involved in health care policy and NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

politics very early in my career. And it’s just always been something that has fascinated me and something I’ve wanted to be interested in.

And yet, we’re constantly amazed in trying to get a policy either changed or on the public agenda that is new for nursing, is good for health care, or at least as nurses we think it’s good for health care, and something that we think the public would benefit from. And I can tell you that over the years in trying to get legislation either, first on the public agenda, and then being considered, often it takes two, three, four, go arounds before a piece of legislation actually even makes it out of a committee.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

And it’s surprising that you think, wow, this is a great idea. This will improve things. And yet when it’s new to a group of legislators who are teachers or bankers or real estate agents or lawyers that really have no expertise in health care whatsoever, they don’t always see the importance of a policy. And so just the fact that you have to introduce what seems to be a really good piece of legislation that will improve things two, three, even sometimes four times, before it even gets to that public agenda, I think is something that continues to surprise me over the years.

A second thing that surprises me continually is that legislation often gets introduced when one person has a problem. And they go to their legislator and they say, this needs to get corrected. And the legislator meets the need of a constituent. And so when you think about elected officials, they can be in one of two camps. They can either what they call pleasing their constituents or pleasing their conscience.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

And so when you have one person’s interests being represented, you really have to think about whether or not that policy is a good one for all, for all of society. And so certainly that evaluation of the good of society comes in looking at that.

DEBORAH TRAUTMAN: When we think about, what does it mean to influence policy, I think of it quite simply as– influencing health policy I think of three factors. And one is first in my mind is that evidence matters. That in order to effectively influence policy, it should be evidence-based. Additionally, I think that communications matter and relationships matter. And that as a profession when we think about being involved in advancing better policy that if we start with evidence– our evidence coupled with stories– and we share those with whomever it is that we’re trying to educate about and/or work with shaping new policy, that’s where we first start.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

But that communication is very important in that we need to be clear and articulate in what it is that we’re trying to address. In addition, when we were talking about influencing policy, the policy, the politics, and the process are what folks will frequently talk about as the three P’s. I would suggest that in addition

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there’s the press, the public, and personalities, and that when we’re trying to move policy forward, we need to think about each of those.

In our organizations we currently participate in many of the key committees and/or task force that are leading the direction for our institutions. And I think that we also should be thinking about this not just on the federal level because a lot of policy is also very state. I was told when I was on the Hill that all politics is local and all health care is personal. And I think that, as nurses, we understand that. We get what it means to advocate for better health and health care.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

So there is opportunity for us to think about, then what does that mean in driving some of these next steps to getting us to be a healthier America? And that not every nurse needs to go visit their member of Congress. But every nurse should know who their member of Congress is. Not every nurse needs to, in my mind, be the extrovert who is speaking on a large platform, but we have opportunities to talk to on an individual basis to the patients and to their families.

And what we should be helping do is continue to think about what services and resources are necessary to help us move, again, to being healthier.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

CARMELA COYLE: As I think of major influences affecting health care policy, I tend to think of it as a three-legged stool. You’ve got the legislative process that’s affecting health care policies. The laws that we shape, the laws that we enact. There’s a second leg of the stole which is the regulatory process. It’s the thousands of pages of detail that have to be written to clarify what it is our lawmakers had in mind.

And there’s a third leg of the stool. And that is the special interest groups. The special interest groups play a very, very important role by informing legislators and regulators, from the front line perspective of health care delivery, of what the implications of a new law or a new regulation might be.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

I think if there are forces affecting those, there are several. One is, I think, our elected officials. Our legislators are certainly being held more accountable by the voters for making certain that we’ve got the kind of health care system that people want to see in the United States.

I think that we’re also seeing consumer expectations on the rise. And more pressure, I think, today than we certainly saw at 10 or 20 years ago from a broader array of special interests to make certain that the policy we’ve got in place is really serving every one, not just what we’ve traditionally viewed as the key stakeholders in the health care system.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

But I think we’ve seen greater accountability. I think we see greater engagement and involvement. From my perspective a strength of our system, but it makes the creation of health care policy that much more challenging,

Canadian nursing dates back to 1639 in Quebec with the Augustine nuns.[72] These nuns were trying to open a mission that cared for the spiritual and physical needs of patients. The establishment of this mission created the first nursing apprenticeship training in North America.[72] In the nineteenth century, some Catholic orders of nursing were trying to spread their message across Canada. Most nurses were female and only had an occasional consultation with a physician. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, hospital care and medical services had been improved and expanded. Much of this was due to Nightingale’s influence. In 1874 the first formal nursing training program was started at the General and Marine Hospital in St. Catharines in Ontario NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

 

 

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And I think one of the new entrants is we really are more focused on measuring how we’ve done at the end of the day. There’s been policy that’s been put into place, and we don’t really know if it works or if it doesn’t. I see much more emphasis in new laws and new regulations on evaluating three years out, five years out. Is it working? And if not, come back and report it and we’ll have to revisit the legislation.

So I think all of that is a set of new forces really helping to shape policy and refine it in ways we haven’t seen before.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

DEBORAH TRAUTMAN: Nurses sometimes say they don’t like politics. I don’t disagree with them. Politics is probably the least desired part of the process. But you can’t divorce policy from politics. But I believe– especially now because we have some pretty partisan times in our federal government, at least, and maybe even at the state and local levels– that if you could have the voice of health care professionals ringing through that partisan divide that we may be able to make more progress that we can’t otherwise because of ideologies.

I have never known the nursing profession to make clinical decisions and care and judgment based on someone’s political ideology. But politics is a part and we have to recognize that. But what I would suggest to us as professionals is that we need to just increase our effectiveness in managing some of the politics, or at least acknowledging and addressing them.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

So who are the stakeholders that we should bring along with us? Who’s going to be in favor and helpful to us in advancing policies? And who are those that are opposed? And we need to educate ourselves on what their positions may be. So that’s a part of it and a part of, what I would say, the evidence.

The communication, again. In thinking through our message and being able to be clear and succinct and brief. Because the effectiveness of getting our point across is based upon not just what we want to do but how well we communicate that. And then relationships are incredibly important. Not only building relationships within the profession of nursing, but outside. And with our elected members of Congress as well as with others.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

And in particular I would say for state and federal policy it’s important to know who are the committees of jurisdiction that are working on policy? Who are the staffs? Some folks have said that they thought if they try to set up a meeting with their elected member and are referred instead to a staff person, that that’s not as good. And I would say that that’s incorrect, that many times it is the staff who are the source of information and the filter of information that goes to our elected members. And so it’s as important to have relationships with those individuals as it is with members themselves.

The advantage that we all have is that very few of our elected members will turn down their own constituent. It may be harder to get in to see someone from another office or state. And not all of our states have representatives on some of the key health committees. But most all of the staff that I met when I was in the Speaker’s office and the committee staff that work both on the minority and majority side, were very open to listening to perspectives that were being brought forward by health care professionals. Because many times what others know about health care is from their own personal experience or what someone tells them.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

Health care professionals, nurses in particular, have firsthand experience and know not only what might work best, but have stories to tell that help make it real beyond just a theory or a proposed solution or alternative.

This course explores the major philosophical and methodological underpinnings of science and knowledge. This exploration will inform a critical analysis of how nursing knowledge has evolved and will illuminate how the experience of nurses, along with the production of knowledge, meanings and values, can best be understood. Learners will develop an understanding of the assumptions underlying different research paradigms and the knowledge they generate by exploring issues such as: What is science? How has science evolved? What is knowledge? What is truth? What are the various research/science paradigms? How is knowledge translated into action?NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

In today’s rapidly changing healthcare delivery system, decisions made within the political arena impact the future of healthcare systems and the populations that healthcare professionals serve. In this course, students examine healthcare reform and its impact on healthcare delivery, population health, and nursing practice. They evaluate policies that influence the structure, financing, and quality in healthcare and examine healthcare delivery from a global perspective. Through discussions, case studies, and other activities, students examine the effects of legal and regulatory processes on nursing practice, healthcare delivery, and population health outcomes. Students also examine ways to advocate for promotion and preservation of population health and gain the necessary skills to influence policy and support changes effected by the passing of new healthcare reform legislation. NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

The Master of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.-M.S.N.) degree is a two-year program (24 months). The curriculum has two major areas: 1) The Nurse as Educator, and 2) The Nurse as Leader, Manager, and Entrepreneur. Content integrated throughout the curriculum includes transcultural nursing, ethics, research, and application of knowledge and skills as an educator or nursing leader.

To be considered for admission to the Master of Science in Nursing program, students must meet all general graduate admission requirements of Nebraska Wesleyan University, as well as the following specific admissions requirements of the MSN program:

A baccalaureate nursing degree from a program accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper
A cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 or above (on a 4.0 scale)
An undergraduate research or evidence-based practice course
An unencumbered active Nebraska or compact state nursing license with expiration date
Successful completion of a background check, drug screen, immunization tracker, and essential functions form.
A maximum of nine semester hours of graduate credit with a grade of “B-” or better may be transferred from other institutions, with approval.
The transferring institution must be regionally accredited.
A student must be currently enrolled at NWU for transfer work to be posted to the academic record.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay PaperInternationally, there is a serious shortage of nurses.[53] One reason for this shortage is due to the work environment in which nurses practice. In a recent review of the empirical human factors and ergonomic literature specific to nursing performance, nurses were found to work in generally poor environmental conditions. Some countries and states have passed legislation regarding acceptable nurse-to-patient ratios.

To become a registered nurse, one must complete a program recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Currently, this involves completing a degree, available from a range of universities offering these courses, in the chosen branch specialty (see below), leading to both an academic award and professional registration as a 1st level registered nurse. Such a course is a 50/50 split of learning in university (i.e. through lectures, assignments and examinations) and in practice (i.e. supervised patient care within a hospital or community setting).NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

These courses are three (occasionally four) years’ long. The first year is known as the common foundation program (CFP), and teaches the basic knowledge and skills required of all nurses. Skills included in the CFP may include communication, taking observations, administering medication and providing personal care to patients. The remainder of the program consists of training specific to the student’s chosen branch of nursing. These are:

Adult nursing.
Child nursing.
Mental health nursing.
Learning disabilities nursing.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

As of 2013, the Nursing and Midwifery Council will require all new nurses qualifying in the UK to hold a degree qualification.[66]However, those nurses who hold a diploma, or even a certificate in nursing are still able to legally practice in the UK, although they are able to undertake university modules to obtain enough credits to top up to a degree.

Midwifery training is similar in length and structure, but is sufficiently different that it is not considered a branch of nursing. There are shortened (18 month) programs to allow nurses already qualified in the adult branch to hold dual registration as a nurse and a midwife. Shortened courses lasting 2 years also exist for graduates of other disciplines to train as nurses. This is achieved by more intense study and a shortening of the common foundation program  NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

As of 2016 student nurses in England and Wales can apply a bursary from the government to support them during their nurse training, and may also be eligible for a student loan, although there has been speculation that this will not be available in the future.[68] Student nurses in Scotland still receive a standard bursary which is not means tested, and their tuition fees continue to be paid – however, they are not eligible for student loans.

Before Project 2000, nurse education was the responsibility of hospitals and was not based in universities; hence many nurses who qualified prior to these reforms do not hold an academic award.NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper

The fast-paced and unpredictable nature of health care places nurses at risk for injuries and illnesses, including high occupational stress. Nursing is a particularly stressful profession, and nurses consistently identify stress as a major work-related concern and have among the highest levels of occupational stress when compared to other professions. This stress is caused by the environment, psychosocial stressors, and the demands of nursing, including new technology that must be mastered, the emotional labor involved in nursing, physical labor, shift work, and high workload. This stress puts nurses at risk for short-term and long-term health problems, including sleep disorders, depression, mortality, psychiatric disorders, stress-related illnesses, and illness in general. Nurses are at risk of developing compassion fatigue and moral distress, which can worsen mental health. They also have very high rates of occupational burnout (40%) and emotional exhaustion (43.2%). Burnout and exhaustion increase the risk for illness, medical error, and suboptimal care provision. NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health Essay Paper