The Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation

Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation
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Role of the RN/APRN in Policy Evaluation
Policymakers are continually making adjustments and improvements to the current policies as they seek to achieve what is referred to as "best practices" of care. However, on many occasions, nurses are usually sidelined in the policy process mainly because of different reasons, including their inadequacy in skills and their lack of policy education. But, the downside to their sidelining involves adopting and implementing policies that are limited in their scope and reach because of the many inadequacies of the policymakers. The policy process is made up of a few steps, including "agenda-setting, government response (usually legislation and regulation), policy design, implementation, evaluation of the policy outcomes, and economics and finance of policy" (Milstead and Short, 2019). In each of the aspects listed above, the involvement of nurses is indeed quite crucial. Their role and contribution in each help ensure that the adopted policies are specific to the community's issues and include all demographics.
Regarding policy evaluation, RNs and APRNs must be involved in this aspect of the policy process. As a process, policy evaluation involves the "systematic collection and analysis of information to make adjustments about contexts, activities, characteristics, or outcomes of one or more domain(s) of the Policy Process" (CDC, 2015). Thus, policy evaluation involves the process of perusing a policy to determine its worth, quality, and value.
In policy evaluation, nurses also play the role of advocating for policies they believe can help enhance healthcare outcomes. After determining the worth, quality, and value of a policy, nurses ensure it is adopted in the wider healthcare circles. According to Williams, Phillips, and Koyama (2018), "nurses can advocate for the right social policies to promote justice, fairness, and health equit...