2. POLITICS
Politics refers to activities aimed at influencing others in
decision making and change.
Politics also refers to the relationships within an organization-
including procedures, values, norms and acceptable behavior-
that determine how a person will act in a given situation.
Politics is closely associated with power. It involves using
legitimate power to identify opportunities and take advantage
of them.
3. NURSE AS POLITICALACTIVIST
Nurses are the largest health care group and nurses
who are politically active have a definitive voice in
their work environments for patient welfare as
welfare as well as for themselves.
Nurses must set their political goals as:
Individual nurses
Nurse citizen,
Nurse activists
Nurse politicians for the future.
4. POLITICAL ROLES FOR NURSES
Role Activities
1. Nurse individual Highlights important role of nurse to prevent Nursing sensitive
outcome, for example pneumonia, cardiac arrest and so on.
Sets goals to strengthen Nursing as a profession.
Highlights the essential dimensions of Nursing.
Participates as a member in health care consumer groups, for
example the American Association for retired persons and so on.
2. Nurse citizen Votes and writes members of congress and state
legislators on issues of interest.
Educates patients on how to evaluate website sources of
health care information
3. Nurse activist Active member of professional organization that lobbies and
influences state and federal legislation.
Notifies hospital Board of Trustees of any quality issues.
4. Nurse politician Runs for a political office and serves society as a whole.
Collaborates with other health care professionals to improve
care at the local, state and national levels.
5. APPLICATIONS TO NURSING
Politics in health care organizations is a means to influence
people in power to promote quality patient care.
Nurses and nurse managers can use politics to influence policy
on, the unit, and departmental, organizational and
governmental levels.
Staff nurses can use politics to influence policy on the unit.
Nurse Managers can use politics to influence departmental and
organizational policy.
Nurses on all levels can use politics for career advancement.
6. Contt…
Membership in state nurses’ associations or specialty Nursing
organizations can help nurses participate in defining and regulating
Nursing.
In this time of economic uncertainty, the allocation of scarce
resources such as health care and the potential for having to ration
health care takes on vast political and ethical dimensions; nurses
must develop new political skills in dealing with managed care and
in viewing health care as business.
Nurses should be aware of the political and ethical ramifications of
meeting not only the health care needs of individuals but also of
meeting the health care needs of a society with dwindling
resources.
