02/03/12
The 5 new articles in the January 31, 2012 OJIN topic, Nurse Advocates: Past, Present, and Future emphasize advocacy by nurses and for nurses on individual and professional levels.
“The Voice of Florence Nightingale on Advocacy” by Louise C. Selanders, RN, EdD, FAAN and Patrick C. Crane, MSN, RN, reviews the accomplishments of Florence Nightingale, discusses advocacy in nursing, and shows how Nightingale advocated through promoting both egalitarian human rights and leadership activities. Since the time of Florence Nightingale the goal of nursing has remained unchanged, namely to provide a safe and caring environment that promotes patient health and well being. The authors conclude by exploring how Nightingale’s advocacy is as relevant for the 21st century as it was for the 19th century.
"Patient Advocacy in the Community and Legislative Arena" by Mary Maryland, PhD, MSN, APN-BC and Rose Gonzalez, PhD, RN provides examples of how nurses can translate their hands-on experience with patients into steps that will influence policy. They begin by defining advocacy and providing examples of how nurses can advocate in the community, specifically in the economic, educational, and healthcare systems. Then the authors describe the process for advocating in the legislative arena. They conclude by noting that the public needs our voice in public policy and that now is the time to move forward to advocate for our patients in these various arenas.
“Role of Professional Organizations in Advocating for the Nursing Profession” by Jennifer H. Matthews, PhD, RN, A-CNS, CNE, FAAN, discusses the characteristics of a profession, reviews the history of professional nursing organizations, and describes the advocacy activities of professional nursing organizations. Throughout, she explains how the three foundational documents of the nursing profession emphasize nursing advocacy by the professional organizations as outlined in the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses With Interpretive Statements. The author concludes by encouraging all nurses to engage in their professional organizations and associations, explaining how these organizations contribute to the accountability and voice of the profession to society.
“Advocating for Nurses and Nursing” by Karen Tomajan, MS, RN, NEA-BC, defines advocacy, describes advocacy skills, and explores strategies every nurse can employ to advocate for safe and healthy work environment. She explains how nurses can advocate for nursing as part of their daily activity whether they are point-of-care nurses, managers, or nurse educators. The advocacy practices discussed are applicable whether advocating on one’s own behalf, for colleagues at the unit level, or for issues at the organizational or system level.
“Advocating Globally to Shape Policy and Strengthen Nursing’s Influence” by David Benton, BSc, MSc, MPhil, RGN, RMN, FRCN, describes how nursing’s voice can best be heard when nurses coordinate their actions to provide essential services and advocate together for public and healthcare-service policies, thus strengthening the position of the profession. Benton offers examples that are drawn from real-life experiences showing how this has been done in the countries of El Salvador, Rwanda, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, and Iran. He concludes that all nurses must do their part and use a wide range of opportunities creatively and with clarity of intent to improve the profession and the lives of the millions of people who depend upon us.
The journal editors invite you to share your response to this OJIN topic by
sending a Letter
to the Editor or by submitting
a manuscript that will further the discussion of this topic about advocacy by nurses and for nurses which has been initiated by these introductory
articles.
ANA members have the first opportunity to access the most recent OJIN topic. When each new topic is posted, the previous topic becomes available to all viewers. This topic will be available after May 31, 2012. Go to Current Topic.
The September 30, 2011 OJIN topic, "Creating
a Culture of Safety: The Next Steps" is now accessible to all readers.