PART A
The Four Spheres of Political Action in Nursing
Health policy and politics revolve around four main spheres of the Political Action in Nursing. These are the workplace, the government, the community, and the organizations such as SGNA. (Mason et al., 2010, p 132) These four spheres are the main guidelines that entail every aspect to do with policies and actions that govern nursing services in any community or within the country at large.
Under the sphere of the workplace, there are special sections covered within this sphere. These are the acute care, home care, nursing homes, the school-based clinics, the occupational health clinics, and physician’s Offices. These are the main workplaces in this sphere. Workplace sphere is governed by some policies and procedures that may be written or unwritten. (Mason et al., 2010, p 157) For example, some of the written policies may be a warning restricting smoking from a given area. This sphere is interrelated with other spheres in the way through which these policies are shared. The government, the professional organizations, the community needs among others, shapes the policies.
The government sphere entails actions that are set up by the government to regulate nursing services. These are the laws governing the nursing services. Government may also be involved in recording keeping such as birth records (Lewis-Washington et al., 2010, p 23). The government also plays an important role in nursing such as influencing the reimbursement systems for healthcare and the nursing services. The government is also involved in health insurance plans and employment services for the nurses.
The Professional Organization sphere is a special instrument in shaping the nursing practice. It is concerned with developing the standards of the nursing services. It also advocates for change in the scope of nursing practice (Lewis-Washington et al., 2010, p 23). It plays a role in the collective action in the workplace. It increases the influence if there are more nurses participating in that particular organization. Any professional organization should be a visible force within its community. It should also take up a leadership role in calling for organizational development.
The community sphere looks at the special interest organizations such as the local or the county food banks. The other three spheres operate within the community sphere. The nurses have a responsibility of promoting the welfare of the community together with its members. This is the vital sphere as it unites the other spheres since all the other three spheres operate and function within a given community.
References
Mason, D. J., Leavitt, J. K., & Chaffee, M. W. (2006). Policy & politics in nursing and health care. Edinburgh: Elsevier Mosby.
Lewis-Washington, C., & Holcomb, L. (2010). Empowering Community Health: An Educational Approach. Journal Of Community Health Nursing, 27(4), 197-206.
PART B:
Ethics in Policy Making
In any policy-making situation, ethics is an essential element that needs to be observed at all cost. These ethical practices are more vital especially when providing decisions in health care units or matters that go hand in hand with health issues (Buchanan et al., 2012, p 212). These might be the policies made to be applied in healthcare system within a certain community or during the occurrence of a disease outbreak or a pandemic.
When allocating funds for a future pandemic, it is ethical to make such policies basing on the priorities such as the most affected group and not based on the level of classes of individuals in the society. As a healthcare professional (Buchanan et al., 2012, p 152). It is their responsibility to save life through protecting the patients who are infected however risky such infection might pose to their own families (Sims, 2011, p 32).
When immunizing, there must be a procedure that is followed to ensure that there is no disagreement on who to be immunized first. This can be done through following the most critical group or by region. Any decision made such as electing of leaders should be done through consensus of the population and not by the laypersons or the elites in the community.
References
Buchanan, A. E., & Brock, D. W. (2012). Deciding for others: The ethics of surrogate decision making. Cambridge [u.a.: Univ. Pr.
Sims, R. R. (2011). Ethics and organizational decision making: A call for renewal. Westport, Conn: Quorum Books.
