he current health care environment
he current health care environment
comment2
Nurse legislatures can represent the nursing profession because they understand the challenges that nurses face in the current health care environment. Nurse legislatures are in the unique position of representing the interests of nurses and the health care needs of the public. Mary Ann Dailey, RN, DNSc, a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives approaches the job from the perspective of a nurse and says that nurse legislators can represent the interests of the nursing profession in ways that no one else can. They understand the challenges that nurses face in today’s health care environment in a world in which hospitals desperately need more nurses and nurses agonize about being overworked (Larson, 2016).
Daley has been involved in efforts to pass a bill allowing prescriptive privileges for nurse practitioners in Pennsylvania and a bill that affects the usage and education of unlicensed assistive personnel. She is currently working on a bill to give whistleblower protection to nurses and other health care professionals who are concerned about issues that have happened in their hospital and may be too afraid of repercussions to speak up. Daily and other nurses serving in state and federal levels agree that more nurses should get involved in politics and encourage volunteering for others who are in office. She further states that it could be running for office, contacting their representatives with concerns, voting regularly, or volunteering for others who are in office and could even mean paying closer attention to issues that involve nursing
