Discuss The Four Spheres Of Political Action In Nursing

The four spheres of political action in nursing are government, workplace, professional organizations, and community. They are all interrelated and interconnected. The government enacts policies that govern and affect all spheres. Healthcare policies are often made to ensure access, quality, and affordability of care. It determines the scope of nursing practice at a state level. The workplace serve a specific community and have its own policies to make the organization run efficiently and cater to the needs of the community that it serves. Workplaces follow Federal laws and regulations to ensure public safety. Nurses have to abide by the rules and regulations of their workplace as well as the government. This is also the sphere where nurses can have the most influence.

Professional organizations uphold its members and try to improve nursing practice. Professional organizations can serve as a voice in government. There is power in numbers. A community is a group of people who either share a common interest such as church, school, or a geographic location such as a neighborhood, town or city (Mason, Gardner, & O'Grady, 2016). By participating in community outreach programs, nurses use their knowledge, skills, and experience to improve the community's health. The Affordable Care Act has shifted focus on health and wellness of patient populations urging hospitals to do a community needs assessment and come up with a strategy to address these needs. Hospitals most often partner with community and professional organizations to address the health need (Stempniak, 2014). This is an example of how the four spheres are all interrelated. Nurses are at the heart of this movement, providing the necessary skills, experience and expertise to address the needs of the population being served (Shamian,