Politics and nursing

Abstract

Politics implies the art of influencing people, and nurses have the political responsibility to influence the allocation of scarce resources. The concept of power and politics in nursing entails the reform of health issues, socio-political issues such as facilities for effective higher education in nursing, and facilities to enable nurses to render effective patient care in any given situation. The only way nurses will be allowed to have input in these issues is when they are comprehensively trained according to standards higher than minimum requirements, including education in politics and the application thereof. Preparing nursing practitioners who can cope with, and who can initiate future health-care issues will require changes in the education of nurses. Nurses should be educated in the financing of health care, and in the important influence quality health care could have on productivity in the country, as well as in analysing the changing needs of the community. Nursing Educators can and do influence the health-care system by being in control of what they teach, by being role models, and by selecting the clinical sites where they expect students to develop clinical skills.


Health SA Gesondheid Vol.6(2) 2001: 55-61