This 4 page research paper begins with a bulleted information sheet designed to inform a busy legislator about this issue. This is followed by a discussion of political strategies that nurses can use to promote legislation on nursing issues and concludes with how a nurse can increase her personal political power. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: KL9_khstaffrat.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
2010). * It has been estimated that for each patient added to nursing workloads there is a 7 percent increase in morality associated with common surgeries, as well as
increases in nursing burnout and a decrease in nursing job satisfaction (Aiken, et al, 2010). * California has had minimum mandated nursing-to-patient staffing ratios in place since 2004, and
registered nurse (RN) staffing increased significantly after this legislation was passed (Aiken, et al, 2010). * Data gathered from 22,336 hospital staff nurses working in California, Pennsylvania and New Jersey
during 2006 shows that when nurse workloads were congruent with mandated staffing ratio levels mandated in California, these lower ratios can be positively associated with lower mortality. * There is
an acute nursing shortage and research also shows that caring for a lower number of patients results in a lower incidence of nurse burnout, improvements in job satisfaction and therefore
aids in nurse retention (Aiken, et al, 2010). Strategies to facilitate passage As these points illustrate, it is important that nurses become politically active and support the passage of
mandated nursing staffing ratios in their states. While nurses frequently consider themselves to be powerless, due to traditionally-oriented healthcare hierarchies, this position overlooks the fact that nurses constitute "the largest
group of health care providers," which means that based on their sheer numbers, nurses have the power to reform the way that health care is administered in this country (Abood,
2007). According to 2004 statistics, there are roughly 2.9 million RNs practicing throughout the country, which makes nursing a formidable political power (Abood, 2007). In order to use this political
power, nurses must utilize all the various sources of power at their disposal. A significant source of nursing power is "expert power," which refers to "possessing the knowledge and