Influencing votes for passing nursing-student legislation
Important strategies at the state level
- Prove the existence of a gap in the current legislation. It is apparent that if the existing legislation is sufficient, there could be no need for a new law hence the need to show what is not adequately covered (Aikan et al, 2010).
- Show the need for the legislation. This will help in showing people that the gap can be eliminated through legislation thus the need of making adjustments (Aikan et al, 2010).
- Show the viability and reality of the legislation in terms of the numbers available and the cost effectiveness of the legislation (Aikan et al, 2010).
- Show the national application of the legislation (Aikan et al, 2010).
- Use the influential people in the economy (Aikan et al, 2010).
Important strategies at the local level
- Show the viability of the idea to the locals (Blais & Hayes, 2010).
- Mobilize the local leaders to support the idea (Blais & Hayes, 2010).
- Use local institutions in making the idea known to the people (Blais & Hayes, 2010).
Important personal strategies
- Knowing important players in the legislative process is essential in order to push the legislation. I must know the players in the legislative process likely to have advantage in the voting (Abood, 2007).
- Understanding the legislative committees-I must know the committees in order to approach the relevant ones for support (Abood, 2007).
- Communicating with the legislators- this will entail informing the legislators of the legislation and trying to get them support it (Abood, 2007).
- Understanding the legislative field and since this field is broad, I will need to familiarize with the field before I present the legislation (Abood, 2007).
- Knowing the legislation steps- after getting the views of the people on the legislation, I would understand the process in order to know the steps which I expect to undertake hence plan for it (Abood, 2007).
- Planning for the vote gaining strategy-this will involve a strategy to ensure that all the legislators and relevant committees have the information on the legislation (Aikan et al, 2010).
Strategies to Influence Votes at the State Level
At the state level, the votes can be influenced through a number of strategies. First, one must make the state see the need to undertake the legislation (Aikan et al, 2010). This will involve uncovering the weaknesses in the current state at the nursing level as more patients die and the number of illegal nurse increases. After showing the need for the legislation, one must show the application of the legislation to the whole economy. The viability of the legislation to the whole economy is important, as no legislation should segregate one part of the economy.
When the people understand that, I teach them arithmetic, and cost reality in terms of the available nurses and the cost of training more nurses (Aikan et al, 2010). When the people understand the concept, I will go ahead and tap into the powerful and influential people in order to get their support in marketing the legislation to the people.
Strategies at the Local Level
At the local level, the people must feel the importance of the legislation to the locals. The nurses must be made to advocate for the rights and comfort of the people (Blais & Hayes, 2010). I will first use the local institutions in making the idea known to the people. Institutions like the leadership of the people will help make the idea widely accepted. I will demonstrate the applicability of the legislation to the locals by making the nurses in the local area my spokespeople. However, I would also use the local leaders to market the legislation by getting them fully involved in the legal process, which will make the local people trust the legislation more.
My Strategies to Influence Votes
In getting the votes from the legislators, I would apply a number of strategies. Firstly, I will understand the legislative field (Abood, 2007). This is important because there are some details about the process, which may hinder the process if they are not, dealt with like the legislative steps. Protocol issues will also be handled in this strategy. After understanding the field, I will study the legislative steps for the sake of strategy and planning. This will include all the formalities and the challenges I will likely face at each stage. At this stage, I will take some time because each potential challenge must get a tentative solution. I will plan for all the resources I need at each stage and the level of idea marketing that I need for each step.
After understanding the steps, I the process and the requirements at each step, I will identify the important players in the field and movers in the legislative process, this will ensure that I can approach them, sell the idea to them and get them supporting the idea (Abood, 2007). When I know the important people in the legislative process, I will also need to know the important legislative committees so that I can involve them and get the idea to the legislative body. As long as the committees and the legislators have a clue of the idea, the next strategy is initiating communication with legislators and committees. This will involve making the legislators understand the essence of the legislation.
The first advantage of the legislation that I will highlight is the fact that nurse-patient ratio legislation will help to lower the death of patients at the hands of the nurses. The second importance is that it will enhance feedback to the nurses through one-on-one interaction. This will increase the quality of services offered by the nurses as they get to know their strengths and weaknesses (Abood, 2007). Unlicensed nurses will also be eliminated through legislation and save the government the loss of revenue from unprofessional practices. Furthermore, research and data management will improve with the increase in number of people undertaking research in the field.
Concisely, the legislation to mandate the nurse-patient ratio will involve all stakeholders from the state to the local level. Strategies employed must ensure that all the stakeholders are covered to foster the acceptability of the idea.
References
Abood, S. (2007). Influencing health care in the legislative Arena. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 12(1), 12 pp. Retrieved from: http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume122007/No1Jan07/tpc32_216091.aspx.
Aikan, L.H., Sloane, D.M., Cimiotti, J.P., Clarke, S.P., Flynn, L., Seago, J.A., Spetz, J., & Smith, H. (2010, April 9). Implications of the California nurse staffing mandate for other states. Health Services Research.
Blais & Hayes (2010). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
