Are there professional barriers to being involved with the legislative process, such as retaliation from institutions or individuals who do not share your same viewpoints? What steps would you take to ensure you can represent the advanced registered nurse as a leader and patient advocate under these types of circumstances?
Re: Topic 4 DQ 1
On February 2, 2019, National Nurses United RNs and other environmental activists rallied in Bradenton, FL. to ban all forms of fracking of oil or natural gas in the state. This rally was directed to Senate President Bill Galvano to vote in favor of a ban. President Galvano was bringing this ban to a Senate vote for the first time in Florida history. NNU feels there is more work to be done and that Preseident Galvano must champion this issue by making sure all forms of fracking are banned (NNU,2020).
ORDER NOW FOR AN ORIGINAL PAPER Are there professional barriers to being involved with the legislative process, such as retaliation from institutions
Ginelle Stewart, an ICU nurse and NNU member spoke out against this practice because of the public health hazards and high human cost associated with fracking.“Fracking and the disposal of fracking waste threaten drinking water,” said Stewart, “Florida has more available groundwater than any other state; it is the drinking water source for 93 percent of Florida’s population. Florida’s porous geology makes it vulnerable to groundwater contamination. Many of the chemicals found in fracking waste are known human carcinogens and lead to health hazards” (Stewart, 2020).
Several studies have shown that babies born within a mile of a fracking well are 25 percent more likely to have low birth weights and other health problems, a study published in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that there was 1.5 to 4 times greater chance of suffering asthma attacks, and a Yale University research team found that carcinogens found in the air near fracking sites may lead to childhood leukemia (NNU, 2020).
References
National Nurses United (2020). RNs fight to protect Florida’s drinking water. Campaign/Environmental Justice. Retrieved from https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/blog/rns-fight-protect-floridas-drinking-water
Re: Topic 4 DQ 1
Yes, there a numerous professional barriers involved in the legislative process in nursing. Sometimes a leader has to make a decision that can affect the relationship between the certified nursing assistant and nurse to protect the residents. For example, I had a good friend of mine that was a certified nursing assistant, and she was communicating a lot with a couple of residents daily. Well, I noticed that they were texting her, and she was sending them photos of different things. One day I asked her if she had permission to socialize with the residents on her personal phone and have pictures of them. She laughed it off and quickly told me, no, but it will be ok. Well, I was a supervisor; I’m required to protect my resident’s rights. I notified my supervisor about the situation and they gave her a second chance and she had to apologize to the family, resident, and sign a paper on being aware of HIPPA/resident’s rights. The use of social media creates a risk of boundary violations as well as breaches of patients confidentiality (Go, R. (2018). Are there professional barriers to being involved with the legislative process, such as retaliation from institutions
ORDER NOW FOR AN ORIGINAL PAPER
Reference:
Go, R. (2018). Maintaining Professional Boundaries in Nursing. Retrieved on May 21, 2020, from https://ncbon.com/myfiles/downloads/cause-bulletin-offerings-articles/bulletin-article-winter-2018-maintaining-professional-boundary-pdf
Re: Topic 4 DQ 1
There are absolutely professional barriers to being involved with the legislative process. Policy and politicians carry with them negative stereotypes including “controlling information, cajoling others to support issues, coercing others to support issues, being impatient while individuals consider information, being
closed-minded to others’ ideas, being confrontational and dishonest, and sharing
only part of the information or partial truth telling” (Weberg et al., 2019, pg 437). Alongside these behaviors can come fears of retaliation should one not agree. Luckily these stereotypes do not have to be perpetuated.
It is key to first understand that while not everybody shares the same opinions or short term goals, we are all part of the same team. People in patient care should, at the end of the day, care about patient safety. Assuming this, it may be easier to put issues into the context of patient care, even if there are two intense opposing views. Disagreements tend to be more challenging when the two sides absolutely cannot understand their opponent. If both sides at least accept that they are about patient care and can agree on that, then that gives context and a foundation for further discussion by narrowing the topic.
Of course, this is easier said than done. Politics and legislature can feel quite personal, and it can be challenging to balance personal and professional relationships with personal and professional beliefs. During her new grad residency, a close friend of mine’s nurse’s union went on strike. She was still in her probationary period of residency, brand new to the unit and the profession, and felt very caught in the middle of everything. There was disagreement between management and senior nurses about supporting the strike, and the fear of retribution and retaliation should the strike line be crossed was huge. It was a really confusing position for her to be in as a brand new nurse.
Weberg, D., Mangold, K., Porter-O’Grady, T., & Malloch, K. (2019). Leadership in nursing practice: changing the landscape of health care (3rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.