Advocacy Through Legislation 

Nurses often become motivated to change aspects within the larger health care system based on their real-world experience. As such, many nurses take on an advocacy role to influence a change in regulations, policies, and laws that govern the larger health care system.

For this assignment, identify a problem or concern in your state, community, or organization that has the capacity for advocacy through legislation. Research the issue and use the “Advocacy Through Legislation” template to complete this assignment.

You are required to cite to a minimum of three sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and relevant to nursing practice. 

While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. 

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion. 

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance. 

Discussion Prompt

Gastrointestinal Case Study

Henry, a 58 y/o male, recently reports waking up in the middle of the night with burning abdominal pain. Symptoms occur several nights a week with occasional discomfort in the middle of the afternoon. A bland diet or drinking milk do seem to help and spicy foods aggregate the symptoms.

PMH: non-contributory

SH: Works in a grocery store, divorced, non-smoker, drinks 1-2 beers/day

Allergies: none

Meds: 1 325mg ASA daily for cardiovascular prevention

ROS:

Constitutional: Decrease appetite and 5% weight loss; denies fever
ENT: Denies sore throat or drainage
Lungs: Occasional dry cough at night
Heart: Mid sternum chest burning intermittently
Abdomen: Epigastric burning and tenderness, denies constipation or diarrhea

Initial Post: Summarize the pathophysiology of Peptic Ulcer Disease as compared to GERD and explain which one his symptoms most closely represent. Support with evidence.

Response#1 Explain the body’s natural protection against peptic ulcers from a pathophysiology standpoint.

Response#2 What diagnostic testing may be used to further evaluate the symptoms and what might this test tell the healthcare provider?

PLEASE USE APA STYLE WITH THE REFERENCES. 

1. Create your Assignment submission and be sure to cite your sources if needed, use APA style as required, and check your spelling.

Assignment:

Professional Development Assignment:

Based on what you have learned so far this week, create an educational presentation with detailed notes and recorded audio comments for all content slides that addresses each of the following points/questions. Be sure to completely answer all the questions. Use clear headings that allow your professor to know which bullet you are addressing on the slides in your presentation. Support your content with at least four (4) citations throughout your presentation. Make sure to reference the citations using the APA writing style for the presentation. Include a slide for your references at the end. Follow best practices for PowerPoint presentations (an example is located in the Resources tab) related to text size, color, images, effects, wordiness, and multimedia enhancements. Use the audio recording feature with the PowerPoint. Alternatively, you may use a smartphone or tablet to record yourself speaking, should you be unable to use the audio feature within PowerPoint. Check for grammatical error.

• Title Slide (1 slide)
• The various kinds of health professionals are educated in separate schools but with considerable overlap in curricula and training requirements. They are, however, expected to integrate their training and work together after graduation. Identify the advantages and disadvantages of this approach to professional education in terms of costs, educational efficiency, and patient care quality. (4 slides).
• An oversupply of physicians in many urban regions contrasts with continuing problems of access in rural and inner-city areas. Why does the mal-distribution of physicians persist in spite of the number of physicians graduated? (2-3 slides)
• The health care delivery system now places increased emphasis on maintaining wellness and on promoting disease avoidance through healthy behaviors and lifestyles. What challenges does this new orientation pose for our existing system of medical education and training? (2-3 slides)
• References (1 slide)

Always review your rubric for assignment expectations. If you have questions or need assistance with slide development and presentations, contact your class instructor.

Assignment Expectations

Length: 10-12 slides; answers must thoroughly address the questions in a clear, concise manner 

Structure: 

Title slide with title, student’s name, university name, and due date
Introduction/Objectives slide to identify topics for the presentation
Body of presentation: a minimum of one slide to address each topic for the assignment
Conclusion slide to summarize the key points of the presentation
References: a minimum of one slide to acknowledge resources used

Slide design: select a professional slide design with a background color and lettering that is easy for an audience to see. Include illustrations throughout the presentation to provide visual interest for the audience and to provide emphasis for the slide topic. Avoid full sentences on the slides. Use no more than 6 bullet points on a slide and no more than 6 words for each bullet point. Include citation/s information on the slide, as appropriate, to acknowledge the resource for the material. Include at least four (4) scholarly sources to support your information.

Speaker Notes: include speaker notes for each slide to explain/address the content on each slide. Speaker notes should be detailed and thorough to discuss the material on the slide.

Audio: include audio for the presentation. Practice your presentation before you record. The audio should match as closely as possible to your speaker notes and should represent the material on the slide.

References: Use the appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources utilized to answer the questions. Include at least four (4) scholarly sources to support your claims. Reference must be current and within 5 years.

 Using the paradigms of health, discuss the link between health and behavior.  Describes how this relationship affects social determinants of health.  

Reply 1

Re: Topic 4 DQ 1

Lauren Underwood is a representative in the state of Illinois, who has also been a Registered Nurse. With that being said, Lauren Underwood brings nursing and health policy experience to the table. As a young girl, Lauren knew she wanted to become a nurse, while in Nursing school she discovered she had a huge interest in research. After graduating from college with her BSN, she pursued a career as a research nurse at the National Institute of Health. As a nurse the biggest, most important role you play is that of being an advocate. When former nurses are elected into a legislative role they have the ability to share their experiences and insights with the public as well as other elected officials, and have the ability to make a difference in the policy-making process (OJIN, 2012). Lauren Underwood states, “as a nurse, I have always considered access to quality, affordable health care fundamental to my practice.”

Later on in her career, Lauren joined the U.S. Department of Health and human Services where she worked on implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Lauren recently introduced the Health Care Affordability Act (HR 1868), which was created to help make health care more affordable by reducing premiums for insurance purchased through the marketplace, as well as legislation to protect Americans with preexisting conditions by overturning Trump administration rule, which was to expand limited-duration insurance (American Journal of Nursing, 2019).

Reference:

American Journal of Nursing. (2019). A Nurse in the House. https://www.nursingcenter.com/journalarticle?Article_ID=4983011&Journal_ID=54030&Issue_ID=4982798

The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. (2012). Patient Advocacy in the Community and Legislative Arena. https://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-17-2012/No1-Jan-2012/Advocacy-in-Community-and-Legislative-Arena.html

Reply 2

Re: Topic 4 DQ 1

Some people think there is no link between nursing and politics. Still, those who have put aside their careers in health care to hold office in their state capitals can attest that the relationship between the two is seamless, almost natural. Nurses are in a position like no other, to represent the interests of their fellow health officers and advocate for the health care wants of the society at large.

The legislature is the body responsible for making laws that govern and dictate the day-to-day duties and conduct of a nurse. Without careful consideration, these laws may negatively affect general nursing care. Having legislators with health care experience enhances advocacy as they know the specific challenges that need to be addressed and, as such, will table these concerns to promote better health care delivery across the nation (Antoine Boivin, 2014).

One of the persons who has served at the state level and as a licensed practicing nurse is retired legislator Lenny Winkler. She served as the assistant minority leader in the Connecticut House of Representatives and is a licensed practical nurse with over 25 years of nursing experience. Her influence in legislation was significant as she saw firsthand what was going on in health. Her recommendations held a lot of weight because she was still practicing (Larson, 2016).

References

Antoine Boivin, P. L. (2014). What Are the Key Ingredients for Effective Public Involvement in Health Care Improvement and Policy Decisions? A Randomized Trial Process Evaluation. A Multidisciplinary Journal of Population Health and Health Policy.

Larson, J. (2016). Nurse Legislators: Representing Health Care in State Government. AMN Healthcare.