Encouragement: The key to increasing the number of nurses serving on boards.

Nurses have a lot of knowledge about health and health systems but are not yet adequately represented on boards and commissions that influence health and healthcare in our country. The majority of nurses are women and the hesitancy of women to seek board and elected positions are well documented. The purpose of this statewide survey of nurses was to ascertain the political engagement of nurses and their identified barriers to service. The nurses in our sample were more politically engaged than the state as a whole and 40% reported willingness to consider or pursue a board or elected position. The primary barrier was a lack of confidence that their appointment would be supported. While there were some differences by age of the respondents, time, money, and family responsibilities were also identified as barriers to seeking board and elected positions. Our results underscore the need to socialize and encourage nurses to serve in positions that influence health and healthcare in our country.

How to Join a Board: A Practical Guide.

In October 2010, the Institute of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released The Future of Nursing report. One way that "Recommendation 7: Prepare and enable nurses to lead change and advance health" has been operationalized has been placing nurses on boards, and nursing organizations have urged their constituents to serve in this capacity. This article outlines steps for obtaining an invitation to join a board. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2018;49(12):559-562.].

Written Versus Simulation-Based Evaluation Methods to Assess Competency and Confidence in the Use of Electronic Medical Records.

BACKGROUND: This study compares data on the use of written versus patient simulator methods to evaluate the competence and confidence of RNs after electronic medical record training. METHOD: A randomized controlled trial compared evaluations of the competence and confidence of newly hired nurses using a written patient admission and discharge versus a high-fidelity simulation manikin. Trained observers evaluated nurses' competence, and the nurses rated their own levels of confidence in their performance. RESULTS: No differences were found in confidence or competence. CONCLUSION: Evaluating nurse training on electronic medical records via simulation is as good as evaluating them using the traditional written method. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2018;49(6):262-268.

Increasing the Number of Oncology Nurses Serving on Boards

Nurses have knowledge about quality, safety, and the patient experience that is valuable to governing boards. In 2011, the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommended that nurses be prepared and enabled to lead change to advance health care. Five years after the recommendation, work toward this goal is still needed.
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Enabling nurses to lead change: the orientation experiences of nurses to boards.

OBJECTIVES: Nurses need to be full partners in shaping health care and health care policy. One way to do this is to be present and active on boards at all levels. The purpose of this study is to examine the orientation experiences of nurses to boards and their preparation to influence health care and health care policy. METHODS: A Web-based survey about the efficacy of board orientation was sent to members of three local boards made up exclusively of nurses. RESULTS: Liabilities and fiduciary duties were least likely to be addressed in board orientation for nurses. Board members requested more training in finance and a more formal/structured orientation process. CONCLUSIONS: Standardizing orientation elements for nurses serving on boards would best prepare them to serve on interprofessional hospital boards and work in the health policy arena. The orientation experience on local- and state-level nursing boards is fundamental to nurses beginning board service.

Making nurses full partners in redesigning health care in North Carolina.

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recommends that nurses take a lead in reforming health care but recognizes significant barriers to nurses assuming such roles. In North Carolina, nurses must be on hospital boards, active in health policy debates, and empowered at the bedside and must lead financial decisions that improve care and keep hospitals financially viable.

Role and quality of nurse practitioner practice: a policy issue.

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are at a crucial period in the development of their profession. The increasing demand for primary care practitioners is changing the environment in which they practice. As they face both increased opportunity and continuing opposition to independent practice, NPs must define their role in healthcare delivery and establish their capabilities. The debate around what is and is not an appropriate role for the NP often focuses on quality of care; however, the real issues may be turf and economic defensiveness in an increasingly competitive market. This article discusses the challenges NPs face in establishing the quality of care they provide, and it reviews the literature on the subject, identifying its strengths and weaknesses and recommending policy changes.