The January 31 topic of OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing celebrates nurses and offers examples of practice changes by individual nurses and nursing organizations.
Check out the six new articles in “The Year of the Nurse in 2020: Nurse led initiatives in policy, practice, and education.”
“Nurses leading the way to better support family caregivers,” by Susan C. Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Andrea Brassard, PhD, FNP-BC, FAAN, summarizes current evidence from the AARP Survey Findings and Update to inform nurses and other providers about how to educate family caregivers through resources and discuss proactive outreach based on the CARE Act.
Authors Ellen Martin, PhD, RN, CPHQ, CPPS, and Cindy Zolnierek, PhD, RN, CAE, offer exemplars illustrating state-level policies that regulate the practice environment and discuss protections in “Beyond the nurse practice act: Making a difference through advocacy.”
Making a difference
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience myriad disparities related to healthcare and access to it.
In 2019, the American Nurses Association (ANA) Board of Directors approved a position statement, Nurse’s Role in Providing Ethically and Developmentally Appropriate Care to People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. This position statement is intended to support people with IDD by respecting and understanding differences and enabling them to realize their full potential in health situations while building on exist-ing strengths and skills as active, engaged citizens, so that others can benefit from their talents and abilities.
“A nursing approach to the largest measles outbreak in recent U.S. history: Lessons learned battling homegrown vaccine hesitancy,” by Blima Marcus, DNP, RN, ANP-BC, OCN, describes this nurse-led outreach, provides useful tips to address vaccine hesitancy, and offers evidence-based answers to vaccine myths.
Sofia A. Aragon, JD, BSN, RN, and her colleagues share the successes of Action Now!, a movement spearheaded by the Washington Center for Nursing, the Washington Board of Nursing, and the Council on Nursing Education in Washington State in the article, “Nurses at the table: Action Now! for nursing education.”
In “Learning about rurality: From classroom to community,” Ruth Mielke, PhD, CNM, WHNP-BC, FACNM, and colleagues share the experience of preparing women’s health advanced practice RNs to serve a population in rural California.
Authors Michael Villeneuve, MSc, RN, FAAN, and Claire Betker, PhD, MN, RN, CCHN(c), offer examples of the impact of Canadian nurses and nursing associations to build, overhaul, and improve health systems and influence health policy in their article, “Nurses, nursing associations, and health systems evolutions in Canada.”
Statement of ANA position
ANA believes that nurses must provide compassionate, comprehensive, and person-centered care to all people, inclusive of at-risk populations such as people with IDD who experience health disparities across practice settings. The nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family, group, community, or population, according to the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. By virtue of their disability, people with IDD often require support across the lifespan, which encompasses support for the individual, family, caregiver, and community. Nursing care for people with IDD should focus on individual needs and strengths, rather than a diagnosis or label. Nurses are well positioned to advocate for the rights of people with IDD, as well as protect them from potentially harmful factors, such as victimization, abuse, neglect, and discrimination.
Read the full statement on nursingworld.org.
Read these stories and more at ojin.nursingworld.org.
