DNP Essentials

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) (2006), highlights the role of the nurse as an advocate for the patient on a level that goes beyond the individual care that the patient receives. DNP Essentials underscores the role of the nurse as a leader with a responsibility to help policymakers make good decisions about healthcare that will have a positive effect on patient outcomes (AACN, 2006). These essentials are reduced to seven basic principles that involve advocacy, education, and serving in an advisory role regarding healthcare policies.

The following outlines how I plan to incorporate these seven essentials into my nursing practice. The Nurse’s Unique Role In Healthcare The nurse is in a unique position in that they can see the effects of national and community scale policies in the “real world” setting (Abood, 2007). They are in a place to see firsthand the effects of rising healthcare costs, declines in access, and quality issues that have a direct effect on patient outcomes (Abood, 2007).

The nurse has a responsibility to take action and find opportunities to bring about system-wide changes that will have a positive effect on the patients that they care for on a daily basis. Gaining a deeper understanding of this role as a moderator between healthcare policy and real patients is a responsibility that goes beyond the basic daily needs of the patient. One of the first actions that must be taken in regard to this role, is to educate oneself on the major issues that affect patient care.

The rising costs of medical care are a key concern in the current consumer-driven system. The insurance companies have been held responsible for many of these rising costs, as they have removed the patients from sensitivity to the costs and effectiveness of treatments and procedures (Jost and Hall, 2005). Consumer-driven healthcare advocates believe that making the patient more responsible for a larger portion of the cost will make them more selective in the services that they choose to utilize (Jost and Hall, 2005).

From a macro perspective, it is easy to see how this would seem to be a logical solution to the problem. However, the nurse has a unique perspective to see the patient that does not receive care because they cannot afford their portion of the bill.

The nurse can also see the results of the patient that did not seek treatment for an illness in the early stages, such as cancer, but chose to wait until the treatment was costlier, more involved, and less likely to result in a positive outcome. The nurse practitioner must utilize this unique position to advocate for solutions that will better serve the healthcare industry as a whole and the needs of the individual patients. In accordance to DNP Essential No.

1, this means taking active measures to stay abreast of proposed changes in healthcare policies on a provider level, community level, regional level, and national level. This may mean subscribing to, or at least reading on a consistent basis, information about upcoming legislative changes and gaining a thorough understanding of what they would mean. Another way to do this is through joining professional organizations that keep their members up-to-date on upcoming policy changes.

Developing leadership in this area involves staying abreast of the changes and taking action to make certain that the voice of the nurse, who is in continual contact with real-world patients, has a voice in these discussions. Participating in committees, boards, and task forces on many different levels of the system is another way to help affect policy in a way that will advocate for improved patient outcomes.

The nurse leader can serve as the voice of others in this capacity by gathering the experiences of others within the profession, allowing them to bring their voice into policy influence and advocacy, even if they are unable to participate themselves. Nursing Care and Consensus The consensus model plays a big role in professional development and advocacy. Organizations have reached an overall consensus about what is required for licensure, accreditation, certification, and education of advanced practice registered nurses under the acronym LACE (Yoder-Wise, 2010).

Reaching consensus among groups is one way to assure consistency in the care that patients will receive, regardless of the region or healthcare facility. However, reaching a national consensus is often more difficult in practice than in theory. For instance, various facilities will allow nurses of various certifications and licenses to teach. For instance, some require an advanced degree, while others do not (Yoder-Wise, 2010).

This makes it difficult to assure that the nurses are receiving at least a minimal level of knowledge, or that they are all receiving the same knowledge. These differences in training result in differences in patient care that could have a significant impact on patient outcomes.

Developing a national consensus is another area where the nurse practitioner can advocate and have a significant influence on developing effective education and professional development that will allow the patient some assurance of consistency in the healthcare that they receive, regardless of the region or the facility.

The Nurse as An Educator One of the most significant items that was brought to my attention through this course and its readings is that policymakers may have some medical or nursing background, but many times the laws are in the hands of those that have little experience. Therefore, they must rely on others to educate them about the effects of any future policies and the impact that they would have on the daily lives of patients and nurses.

It is easy to become isolated and think that everyone knows everything that you do about healthcare topics and issues facing the healthcare system today. However, it is important to assess the level of knowledge of policymakers and make certain that their decisions are based on the most recent findings and evidence-based practices. The nurse must be able to translate professional knowledge into a language that can be understood by those who do not have the same level of education or background in healthcare.

In addition, the nurse must not become so involved in national level politics regarding healthcare that they forget their local community. In some communities, professional advocacy groups and community health organizations may be few. If the nurse sees a need for such a group, starting the needed group is one way that they can serve the community at large. Aligning Needs and Talents The advanced practice nurse is in a position to have a bird’s eye view of the needs of the community surrounding their location.

Through daily interaction with floor nurses and patients, they may see an area of need that is missed by policymakers in the local community. This is a prime opportunity for advocacy and fulfilling the requirements of the DNP Essentials. However, it is also important to understand one’s strengths and weaknesses in the ability to perform in this capacity. The nurse should continually do a self-assessment and understand their own innate strengths and ones that they have gained through education and training.

They must also understand their weaknesses and how they may affect their ability to serve in a certain capacity. It may be that you are not the perfect person to serve in a community advocacy position, but you may know someone who has the right set of skills necessary to do the job. One of the most valuable skills that a nurse can have is knowing when the best person for the job is oneself and when the best person may be someone they know.

This leads to the concept that the nurse must be in a state of continual assessment of the needs of the community and the resources that are available to them to fill those needs. The nurse must advocate for policy that shapes finance, regulation, delivery, social justice, equity, and ethical policies on all levels of the healthcare system (AACN, 2006). It is also important to assess how to be effective and serve the greatest good. Sometimes, this may mean working on a grass roots level in the local community.

At other times, it could mean something such as testifying before a legislative committee to educate and bring awareness to the impact of a certain problem of which they may not be aware, or a solution they may not have thought of. The advanced nurse practitioner must be able to bring together the right resources to the right time and place to have the greatest impact on the problem to be resolved.

Putting It All Together The process of continual evaluation and seeking solutions within the healthcare industry is a never-ending task. Keeping the abreast of the changes in legislation and conditions within the healthcare industry requires vigilance and the scheduling of regular actions to this end.

It is easy to become so wrapped up in the daily routine of patient care that one forgets to take time to look at the bigger picture and tried to be a contributor in the resolution of problems, but it is the responsibility of everyone to take the time out to do so. It must become an item on the schedule on a regular basis.

It is important for the nurse practitioner to talk to others in the field, who may bring a different perspective than their own to the table. This is one way to help build consensus among the medical community and to brainstorm potential solutions that may result in the resolution of the bigger issues facing the healthcare industry. It is important.