In the policy development model, the nurses are responsible for championing policies that would improve the quality, accessibility, and effectiveness of health care. They help formulate, evaluate, and implement policies by providing their clinical input in legislation (Rasheed et al., 2020). This is because they are in a position to understand the existing problems and recommend workable solutions to the policymakers from their direct patient care. Furthermore, nurses participate in professional organizations, including the American Nurses Association, to help formulate health policies at institutional, state, and federal levels. Besides, nurses participate in policy development and implementation of public health measures to ensure that proposed measures consider current patient care provisions and healthcare issues like staffing shortages (Kamau et al., 2022). Their participation enhances the nursing profession’s influence on healthcare reform and implementing fair policies that meet the population’s health needs.

I intend to attend the state legislative hearing on the nursing workforce shortage that is to be conducted by the Florida Board of Nursing. This meeting will cover the proposed bills regarding increasing financial support for nursing education and modifying the rules for obtaining a license for practice. Legislators, healthcare executives, and nursing officials will address strategies to solve the scarcity of nurses in Florida. This policy meeting is a chance to discuss with the stakeholders, share insights on the measures that can be taken to retain the workforce, and promote the policies that would help improve nursing education, workplace safety, and professional development. This meeting is relevant to the nursing profession as it seeks to advocate for change in policies that affect the delivery of healthcare services to the people.

There are several key points a nurse could bring to the meeting. First, nurses can give details about the problems of workforce shortages, for example, high patient-to-nurse ratio, high turnover rate, and fewer promotion chances (Graf et al., 2020). Possible suggestions that can be made based on the evidence include the provision of more funding to nursing residency programs and the expansion of tuition reimbursement programs. Nurses can also use the workforce shortages to explain increased incidences of medical malpractice, longer hospital stays, and dissatisfied clients (Graf et al., 2020). Moreover, they can provide data on the positive outcomes of APRNs’ involvement in primary care, which can help advocate for legislative changes to increase the scope of practice of APRNs and enhance access to healthcare. These contributions place nurses at the forefront of policy-making on workforce and healthcare issues, impacting the practical experiences of nurses and patients.

References
Graf, A. C., Jacob, E., Twigg, D., & Nattabi, B. (2020). Contemporary nursing graduates’ transition to practice: A critical review of transition models. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 29(15-16), 3097-3107. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jocn.15234?casa_token=1LxG3Q3HByAAAAAA:CM2Yyrs9fPHRxY3xtY7qiVWyHMeBB3DuijRV0pkf829zo9mO1W3JiJML7kvCv4sNEjzQXsgDbte3DnwLinks to an external site.

Kamau, S., Koskenranta, M., Kuivila, H., Oikarainen, A., Tomietto, M., Juntunen, J., … & Mikkonen, K. (2022). Integration strategies and models to support transitioning and adapting culturally and linguistically diverse nursing staff into healthcare environments: An umbrella review. International journal of nursing studies, 136, 104377. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020748922002061Links to an external site.

Rasheed, S. P., Younas, A., & Mehdi, F. (2020). Challenges, the extent of involvement, and the impact of nurses’ involvement in politics and policy making in last two decades: an integrative review. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 52(4), 446-455. https://sigmapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jnu.12567?casa_token=UPEaettEtKIAAAAA:Rg5xqzSlGZxxZJa48Y0amh7osQLOTXgpRWXFbVbQi6lrUkNlIL-mi4Ud5-TQm71O