Advocacy Through Legislation for Nursing Professionals in Virginia

Advocacy Through Legislation
Identify a problem or concern in your state, community, or organization that has the capacity to be advocated through legislation.
Research the issue and complete the sections below. For each topic that requires the listing of criteria, a minimum of two criteria
should be identified and discussed. Add more rows as is appropriate for the topic/proposal.
Problem
In no more than 200 words, describe the problem, who is affected, and the current ramifications. Explain the consequences if the issue continues.
The problem that is faced by the nursing practitioners in the state of Virginia is the inability to practice autonomously. This means that the nursing
professionals have to work under the supervision of a doctor despite having sufficient knowledge and skill for the nursing practice. The prevalence of the issue
majorly affects the doctors and nurses in the healthcare organizations. The doctors believe that nursing professionals do not possess enough training to sustain
in the real-life situation which makes it difficult for the Virginians to be provided with the best care (Gunn et al., 2019). The doctors would want to train the
nurses with appropriate measures and education to make them situation ready and improve the quality of care provided to the people. It has been observed that
nursing practitioners do not possess enough knowledge to be able to work independently under an organization leading to detrimental effects on the patients.
The scenario will remain the same in Virginia if there are no strict advocacies presented by the legislator and the nursing community. There will be a
communication gap among the nurses and the physicians which will impact the quality of care and reduce the efficiency of the healthcare professionals
towards the patients and their families. The compromise on the part of the nurse can impact the satisfaction rate among the family members and the patient
towards the healthcare organization and the doctors.
Idea for Addressing Solution
In no more than 200 words, outline your idea for addressing the issue and explain why legislation is the best course for advocacy.
As per the current laws in the state of Virginia, the issue is addressed by reducing the prevalence of independency among the nursing professionals and the
physicians by supporting the nurses and making a legislation to practice independently once they have five years of clinical expertise. This addressing of the
issue results in nurses working five years under a doctor supervision to learn the nuances of the profession. The hospital organizations are unaware of the
appropriate legislations that need to be passed to decrease its occurrence. The working hours of the nurses during the timespan of five years remains a critical
aspect of discussion. Under the supervision of the doctor, nurses are thought to invest substantial amount of time with proper learning and knowledge about
the profession. Legislations need to be passed to make sure no overtime is conducted and no exploitation of the professionals have been carried out. Overtime
of the healthcare professionals have been observed to be creating burnouts and increased resignation from their job. For optimum advocacy, legislations and
regulations are to be passed to increase efficiency of the system by reducing the prevalence of dissatisfaction among its employees.
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Research the Issue
Perform research and compile information for your idea. Present substantive evidence-based findings that support your idea for addressing the problem
(studies, research, and reports). Include any similar legislation introduced or passed in other states.
Evidence 1 As per the study conducted by Dillon and Gary in (2015), the state of Virginia restricts the
independency of nurses over the physicians with increased supervision and team-management to
provide patient centered care to the patient. The nursing professionals are less qualified with decreased
problem-solving skills to be given the opportunity to practice autonomously.
Evidence 2 Kurnat-Thoma, Ganger, Peterson & Channell, (2017), had conducted a study to understand the
prevalence of the burnout ratio and employee turnover rate among the nursing professionals due to the
overload of work. It was found that 28.8% to 49% of the resignations have been obtained from nurses
who have been new to the organization with less than a year of practice in the domain. An intervention
of programs to increase the welcoming attitude of the organization towards the new hires have been
observed to decrease the turnover rate to 18.4%.
Stakeholder Support
Discuss the stakeholders who would support the proposed idea and explain why they would be in support.
Stakeholder(s) Supporting 1 The occupational therapists will be supporting the advocacy that is proposed to favor the nursing
professionals. There would be open access to the clinical practice of the nurses. For the supervision, the
occupational therapists can come in handy while promoting the care being provided to the patients in
the clinic.
Stakeholder Opposition
Discuss the stakeholders who would oppose the proposed idea. Explain why they would be in opposition and how you would prepare to debate or converse
about these considerations.
Stakeholder(s) Opposed 1 The doctors will oppose the advocacy that have been proposed to be implemented to incorporate the
autonomy of nursing professionals into the healthcare system. They will be unable to work with the
nurses after five years of clinical expertise in the domain. The doctors will face a loss in the area of help
by the nurses as they will be imparting necessary education and training but then they will not be
thinking of a long-term connection with the doctors.
Stakeholder(s) Opposed 2 The hospital administration will oppose the advocacy as there will be a shortage of nurses after five
years in the hospital that is run by them. The nurses will open their own clinic with collaboration with
physicians supporting their autonomy with the best care for the patients with advanced technology. This
will reduce the usage of the hospital which will incur losses to them.
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