please help me

[djb727]

Hello everyone,

Hope everyone is well. I am a nursing student hopefully fixing to graduate in May. I am desperately seeking some ideas on a topic related to power in nursing. Myself and two others are supposed to give a presentation to fellow students as part of a classroom learning activity.

First of all, my presentation needs to be creative.

Second of all, I have no idea about these questions for discussion that need to be covered. I am basically looking for guidance because my brain is limited because I do not know about nursing issues because I never worked in a health care facility only to do clinical work in which I was trying to sharpen my skills at that level. I never looked further than that while I was in clinical.

The questions are:

(1) Are nurses in control of nursing? Do they contol their own practice and profession?

(2) Identify ways in which nursing can gain power and influence the health care system.

(3) Does nursing dilute its power by confusing the public relative to minimal standard of education for its practioners; what constitutes professional base of behavior?

(4) Is the public's recognition of nursing expertise necessary for nursing to have the power to influence health care?

PS- I am nervous and stressed to the max because I have limited time to get this together and I need direction. In case you are wondering why I have not talked it over with my instructor, my instructor intimidates me for some reason and I feel like she would look at me if I was dumb. And who knows, maybe I am niave.

[snowfreeze, BSN, RN]

Take a few hours and read nurses posts on this site. That should give you MANY Ideas as to issues in nursing. Narrow your research down to one or two areas of nursing that interest you such as 'read all the posts from ER nurses for the last 6 months'. Find a few issues you would like to further pursue and do a search of the site on that subject to see if other areas of nursing have that same issue. You could possibly e-mail a few posters for further input once you have a rough copy of your presentation.

[Diana Lynn]

power in nursing?

do we control our own practise and profession? do we have an influence on health care?

wow!! you have your work cut out for you but just for one second think about it!! we have a strong voice in numbers if we speak collectively...

but we have to stick together and take a stand to make our voices heard...

nurses and the general public need to move past the assumption that traditional approaches are the only way to influence policy. non-traditional approaches, are extremely effective methods of influencing public opinion regarding nursing's role in the community. becoming a part of outside organizations...community involvement..etc..

i am not sure what you are looking for..

when nurses rise to a level of awareness, most tend to have a narrow focus that centers on specific issues directly concerning the nursing profession... most nurses are aware, to some extent, of legislation that involves health care reform and nursing practice. nursing organizations are involved heavily in protecting or promoting these agendas and make an effort to inform their members and solicit their support. they are often heard and their views are supported and listened to..

nurses and nursing organizations often ignore issues that affect public health on a national and international level because these issues do not directly involve their specialty.

nurses hold a level of stature that is highly respected and trusted. they are viewed as professionals who truly are interested in the welfare of others.

we are a caring profession..the role of nurses in health promotion is recognized by international, national, and state organizations. organized support of these issues can greatly affect world health, so nurses have a duty to investigate their role and increase their level of participation. this type of empowerment broadens nursing's focus and increases respect for the profession on all levels.

nurses, as individuals, frequently do not address issues that affect the profession. a lack of knowledge of the process causes them to be overwhelmed by the complexity of public policy. nurses focus on clinical care and sometimes ignore larger issues, partially due to a heavy workload, but also due to a lack of understanding of how to influence public policy.

we are one body and one voice of many in our stand...

we can influence.............hope i addressed some of your questions..

yeah!! for nurses...

being creative, you can do it..

do not allow others to control your feelings...

god bless

[Nursey Face]

you may want to check out Nursing Against the Odds by Suzanne Gordon. She talks about all of these subjects . . . Very thought-provoking book.

[mandrews]

Good luck with your project. I agree with the above poster that you need to review other post. Personally I believe that nurses can be in control of nursing. By staying up to date on current nursing issues, speaking out, continuing education, join a local nursing organization.

when i think for gaining power and influencing healthcare I think of crna, or nurse midwives, public healthcare nurses. Just by providing patient teaching we influence healthcare not to mention by being a patient advocate. Only we can choose to increase our knowledge.

ask yourself do you believe that nurses confuse the public, or do you feel like the public has been confused by the steriotypes they see on tv and in the media. which in itself answers question four. If the public does not recognize nursing expertise how can we have the power to influence healthcare.

I would breakdown each question individually and go from there.

Your project focuses on knowledge and power. Remember School House Rocks, "Knowledge is Power."

You can do this it doesn't seem that difficult. Do no be intimidated by your instructor. Just concentrate on doing a great project.

[djb727]

To all who are responding to this post, I am very thankful for you for sharing your thoughts and your expertise. I feel as though I am not alone and that is one comforting feeling, I am so glad that I came to this site. I am new on this site so if I have not responded to you personally, I will do so by posting it as for right now..... :rotfl: Thankyou and many blessings.