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DISCUSSION 4A major barrier to nurses’ participation in the development of health care policy in the United States is opportunity. Although the nursing profession requires a higher level of education, the demographics of the nurses throughout the country are varied. Nurses come up from different upbringings. In the interviews conducted by Gebbie, Wakefield, and Kerfoot (2000), they found that “American nurses involved in health policy at the national, state, and local levels” came from households that were previously involved in politics and were essentially told that they could do anything they wanted to do. (Mason et al., 2016, p. 39). In addition, “mentoring is a vehicle for developing political skill and contextual knowledge,” (Mason et al., 2016, p. 39). Although mentors can be found at any level of nursing, the opportunity to find a mentor involved in the development of healthcare policy at any government or organization level is not the same for all demographics of nurses throughout the United States.
Another barrier could be the nurse’s personality. In order to participate in health care policy and politics, one must have political skill as defined by social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability, and apparent sincerity. (Mason et al., 2016, p. 40). Social and interpersonal skills are necessary in order to not only inform, but persuade others.
However, in general, nurses are seen as skilled workers and predominantly women. This perceived notion of who nurses are creates a barrier which nurses need to overcome in order to be taken seriously in a field that is not medicine. “Critics [noted] that many nurses lack the institutional and personal power required to advocate for patients’ rights. Hewitt (2002) points out that ‘for the nurse to be in a position to empower patients, it is necessary for the nurse to be first empowered’.” (Mason et al., 2016, p. 33). Although nurses provide services and education for patients, it has been questioned how much influence a nurse can have in patient care and patient care policy, even at the level of the nurse’s own facility at which they work at. With this in question, the government, politicians, and organizations are given room to doubt a nurse’s capability to efficiently participate in health care policy.