Position Paper Intro
NURS 472: Community Health Nursing II
Assignment Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to allow the student the opportunity to complete an analysis of a public health issue from a social justice perspective.
Approach to Assignment
My approach to this assignment was to examine healthcare access as a social justice issue in relation to population health and nursing advocacy. I first explored the existing body of knowledge concerning health disparities and marginalized populations and leaned into my understanding of the social determinants of health from my Foundational Concepts and my Pharmacology Across the Curriculum II- Issues course. I analyzed barriers to care and supported my stance with nursing theory and evidence from the literature. My stance included the importance of utilizing nursing advocacy as an instrument for speaking truth to power before governing bodies through community involvement and policy engagement.
Reason for Inclusion
Domain 4 (Scholarship for the Nursing Discipline). Evaluates research that focuses on the efficacy and effectiveness of nursing interventions.
While forming the evidence basis of my position, I utilized research and examples of policy to affirm my stance and discuss the impacts of access issues related to health outcomes for vulnerable populations.
Domain 4 (Scholarship for the Nursing Discipline). Communicates scholarly findings with colleagues.
In my position paper, I demonstrated scholarly synthesis by referencing and summarizing central themes from the cited literature, analyzing this data, and assigning meaning to them as they pertain to healthcare access issues and engaged in dialogue regarding this issue with my colleagues in online discussion boards.
Domain 6 (Interprofessional Partnerships). Articulates the values of the profession and the role of the nurse as a member of the interdisciplinary healthcare team.
I utilized the concepts of ethics, advocacy, and social justice to address the nurse’s role in improving healthcare outcomes for vulnerable populations and how issues of access are matters within the scope of the nurse to address. I drafted an editorial letter about the importance of this issue, highlighting my stance and why it is an important matter requiring community involvement beyond just the interdisciplinary team.
Domain 7 (Systems-Based Practice). Understands the effect of legal and regulatory processes on nursing practice and healthcare delivery.
This position paper discusses how legal and public policy systems shape access to healthcare and impact the nursing profession. I examine the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as a mechanism intended to reduce barriers to care with expansion to services like Medicaid and further explore how policy either increases or limits access to healthcare for marginalized persons.
Domain 9 (Professionalism). Advocates for professional standards of practice using organizational and political processes.
My position paper addresses the role of nurses as champions of evidence-based practice as an instrument for shaping public policy and their role as patient advocate. More specifically, I demonstrate how nurses can use their role to affect the policy process by contributing editorial pieces to local media outlets.
References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (n.d.). Domains & Concepts. The essentials. https://www.aacnnursing.org/essentials/tool-kit/domains-concept
Read more about my stance on the issue of access to healthcare here: