NR 506 Week 5 Assignment 1: Key Communication Strategies for Policy Advocacy
In Week 5 there is two parts to the Planning Your Visit Assignment. Planning Your Visit (Part A) and Planning Your Visit-Public Talk Video (Part B) assignments are due by Sunday, 11:59 p.m. MT at the end of Week 5. You will find the guidelines listed below. The guidelines and grading rubric are also in the course resource section.
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to: (a) identify communication strategies that support an effective policy making-presentation/visit; (b) deliver a message and make recommendations, and (c) communicate ideas in a clear, succinct, and scholarly manner.
Course Outcomes
CO 1: Employ strategies to impact the development, implementation, and consequences of holistic-focused healthcare policies using evidence-based practice principles. (PO 1)
CO 2: Communicate with decision-makers to advocate for effective policies that impact nurses and nursing, consumers, or the healthcare system to foster population health including quality and safety. (PO 2)
CO 3: Demonstrate professional and personal growth concerning the advocacy role of the advanced practice nurse in fostering policy within diverse healthcare settings. (PO 3)
CO 4: Analyze social, historical, ethical, and political contexts of healthcare policies while integrating professional values to impact population health. (PO 4)
CO 5: Advocate for institutional, local, national, and international policies that fosters person-centered healthcare and nursing practice. (PO 5)
Due Date: Sunday 11:59 p.m. MT at the end of Week 5
Total Points: 100 points NR 506 Week 5 Assignment 1: Key Communication Strategies for Policy Advocacy
Requirements
Assignment Criteria for Presentation
- Introduce your chosen policy issue, the current status, and an overview of your plan for a legislative visit.
- Articulate key communication strategies involved in your approach to the legislator including plan, message, and recommendations; see Worksheet 2 and again, the focus is on evidence-based communication techniques for effective healthcare policy visit to the legislator.
- Provide an analysis of empirical evidence of effective communication strategies and techniques to support an effective visit and follow-up to the legislator.
- Provide specific examples of the impact and/or importance of a successful visit/presentation to nursing.
- Provide concluding statements summarizing the content.
- Paper will be 2-3 pages, excluding title and reference pages, and in APA format 6th
- Five non-text book references are required as minimum.
Preparing the Paper
Following completion of Planning Your Visit Ungraded Worksheet 2, target communication strategies that support an effective policymaking visit. Include a minimum of five (5) classic references or current references (published within the past 5 years) that support your policy plan, the message, recommendations, and follow-up.
Rubric
W5: Planning your Visit- Part A
| W5: Planning your Visit- Part A | |||||||
| Criteria | Ratings | Pts | |||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIntroduction and Conclusion
Introduction and Conclusion |
|
10.0 pts | |||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeEmpirical Evidence |
|
50.0 pts | |||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSpecific Examples |
|
20.0 pts | |||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAPA Format: |
|
10.0 pts | |||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeWriting Quality. |
|
10.0 pts | |||||
| Total Points: 100.0 | |||||||
In Georgia, undocumented immigrants can only receive emergency healthcare services at a hospital ER or limited healthcare services from state approved community health centers. Undocumented immigrants in Georgia rarely access these health services because Georgia law enforcement agencies have begun to enforce the “show me your papers” clause under Georgia’s central immigration law. Under this law, the deportation of sick undocumented immigrants is also allowed. My public policy proposes a standard delivery of equitable health care services for all undocumented immigrants.
The policy will also include a provision that blocks medical deportation. The policy maker I contacted is State Representative Sharon Cooper, chairperson Health and Human Services Committee. I am waiting for the secretary to get back to me about my request to meet with Representative Cooper. My plan for the visit is to inform Representative Cooper about my policy suggestion in a succinct manner and use a PowerPoint as a visual aid. I must look and sound professional, as well as use listening skills. At the end of the presentation, I will leave Rep. Cooper with a one-page fact sheet that sums up my main points. After a few days, I will follow up and send her a thank you email.
Communication strategies and analysis of empirical evidence
President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Be sincere; be brief, be seated.” My main communication strategy is to keep my verbal presentation “short and simple” (Schraufnagel, 2013). My aim is to evoke empathy for undocumented immigrants without using mind-numbing fancy words and big data. I will have a limited time frame to present my ideas and must fight the compulsion to overwhelm my audience with too much information. I will make sure to leave five minutes to address Representative Cooper’s reaction and questions.
I do not want to exceed my time unless Representative Cooper chooses to extend our meeting. The use visual aids, such as charts and graphs, validate the details of my proposal and boosts my professional image (Dahiya and Nitu, 2017). My PowerPoint will serve as a guide not as the presentation itself (Dahiya and Nitu, 2017). Using PowerPoint is common and can be effective if I do not crowd the slides with statistics and clip art. A short handout and pamphlet are also effective. They will be used to illustrate my key points, and my policymaker can refer to them later when she reflects on our meeting.
Speaking the right language is important when conveying my message, I must have a firm understanding of political jargon and define any nursing terms that may confuse my audience. A communication skill that is often overlooked is listening, which I will skillfully use by posing rhetorical questions I intend my audience to answer. By listening, nurses can assess the legislator’s non-verbal cues and gain a clearer understanding of the policymaker’s agenda.
It is the communication skill that shows policy makers their opinions are valued and respected (Kourkouta and Papathanasiou, 2014). Successful nursing presenters will find ways to involve policymakers in the presentation. Getting Rep. Cooper engaged depends on my ability to regulate my non-verbal cues by maintaining eye contact, steadying my tone of voice, and controlling my facial expressions. If I appear inviting and sincere, she will feel comfortable presenting her points, which opens the floor to meaningful discourse and hopefully some resolution.
Importance of successful nursing presentations
Reaching nursing health policy goals depends on how well nurses and nursing organizations advocate to policy makers (Catallo et al., 2014). Good presentation and communication skills lead the way for nurses to be more effective and to positively impact the nursing and public health communities (Catallo et al., 2014). When nurses are successful in making political presentations, nurses “bridge the gap” between the policy process and how nurses view their roles (Catallo et al., 2014). Successful nursing presentations inspire nurses to learn more about the political process and challenge them to want to do more.
Nurses become more than just patient providers as they gain a clearer understanding of their role in shaping the future of nursing. Additionally, nurses gain skills that are not typically associated with the profession. They become seasoned public speakers and grow as leaders who are called upon to use their field expertise and communication skills to lead other nurses, advocate for nursing organizations, and network with legislators. Lastly, nurses are better prepared to evolve into non-practitioner leadership roles and can pick which health related field they want to transition into. Nurses’ influence in the political process protects patients, improves the quality of care, and facilitates access to legislators who have the power to pass public health policies (Arabi et al., 2014).
Conclusion
In summary my key points of communication are to engage with my policy maker, make an effective use of voice and tone to control my nerves and appear confident, use PowerPoint and a handout sheet as visual aids, and be aware of my non-verbal communication when I answer questions or am confronted with interruptions. Politicians are used to creating and listening to presentations, so I want to make sure that I design my message in a format my legislator is used to. The communication areas that I will rely on are verbal presentation and visual aids.
Both of these elements leave a lasting impression and make a difference on whether my legislator supports my policy-priority issue. My success depends on how well I plan before I meet my legislator, which includes knowing her position on my issue. My goal is to get Rep. Cooper thinking about undocumented immigrants as humans and fellow Georgians, not as illegal aliens and criminals.
References
Arabi, A., Rafii, F., Cheraghi, M. A., & Ghiyasvandian, S. (2014). Nurses’ policy
influence: A concept analysis. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 19(3), 315–322. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4061635/
Catallo, C., Spalding, K., & Haghiri-Vijeh, R. (2014). Nursing professional organizations: What
are they doing to engage nurses in health policy? Sage Journal Publications, 1-9. Retrieved from DOI: 10.1177/2158244014560534
Dahiya, H., & Nitu, K. S. (2017). Audio visual aids: An essential tool for teaching. International
Journal of Nursing Education, 9(1), 64-66. Retrieved from DOI: 10.5958/0974-9357.2017.00012.5
Kourkouta, L., & Papathanasiou, I. V. (2014). Communication in Nursing Practice. Materia
Socio-Medica, 26(1), 65–67. Retrieved from http://doi.org/10.5455/msm.2014.26.65-67
Schraufnagel, D. E. (2013). Communicating with congress. American Thoracic Society
(ATS), 10(4). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201305-128OT
