nursing role in achieving social justice

From Flint, Michigan to Cannonball, North Dakota — yes, you will see NNU nurses in our red scrubs, following the factors that negatively impact our patients’ health, right back to their source. Become a leader in a local nursing or community organization. So if you’ve ever wondered, “Why are those nurses out in the streets, or in elected officials’ offices, standing up for social justice? This article draws on two studies that have used an ethic of care analysis to explore lay, nursing and social work care for people with dementia. The founder of professional nursing, for example, Florence Nightingale (the inspiration behind Nurses Week), was not only famous for helping to heal soldiers during the Crimean War — she also fought to improve healthcare for all British people, advocate for better hunger relief in India, abolish prostitution laws that were endangering women, and expand opportunities for women workers. Redman, R., & Clark, L. (2002). What, then, is nursing’s role with regard to social justice? The role of an ethically conscious, socially-just nurse is to honor the commitment that he or she has made to uphold the ‘Nursing Code of Ethics,’ through and through the treatment of each and every patient. Please join us in our fight for greater health and safety, on all fronts, by joining NNU’s Nurse Health and Safety Campaign. “Can’t nurses just stay in the hospital, where they belong?” has a beautiful answer, centered around a big picture view of health and healing. Start paving your path to tomorrow! You will also see nurses standing up and saying “No!” to dirty oil pipelines like DAPL and Keystone XL, to coal trains spewing toxic dust, and to other corporate projects that put private profit over the health of our patients and of the communities in which they live. It is implied that these two systems do not always function in harmony. Ans) 1)As nurses, our responsibility to promote social justice compels us to put the achievement of health equity as our primary goal. Here are a few tips that can help you be a strong proponent for equality in nursing: You can advance your career in population health, social justice, and nursing with a Master’s of Science in Nursing from Goodwin College, and move towards enforcing social justice in the broader nursing field. We belong where our voice makes a difference for our patients. Justice means being impartial and fair. S6-S8. The role of a nurse is to understand all of the nuances of the challenging state of being a patient. Is it possible to ensure that your patients are never taken advantage of? Goodwin University is a nonprofit institution of higher education and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), formerly known as the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Tightening Chest and Tingling Fingers: Why Are the Military’s Fighter Pilots Getting Sick? It's important that inequalities in access, delivery, and outcomes are considered when developing health policy. Band together with like-minded citizens to influence change where justice is not being met. It is becoming apparent that social justice should play a significant role in nursing practice (Bekemeier & Butterfield, 2005; Fahrenwald, Taylor, Kneipp & Canales, 2007). Achieving environmental justice: Perspectives on the path forward through collective action to eliminate health disparities. The refinery pollution, the poisoned water, and the economic inequality — these are not given forces that our patients must endure, until they break down. You see its impact in full color. In the Code’s latest revision, there is special reinforcement of our obligation to social justice and the profession’s responsibility to integrate principles of justice into nursing and health policy. You will find us advocating for clean water, from Flint, to Standing Rock, and spending our vacation time volunteering with NNU’s Registered Nurse Response Network (RNRN), providing first aid after an earthquake in Haiti and post-hurricane Katrina. In fact, California is the only state in the country that currently has safe nurse-to-patient ratios, and it was the end result of nurses with CNA/NNU fighting for 13 years, rallying and lobbying and showing up at hearings until ratios were law. Goodwin University was founded in 1999, with the goal of serving a diverse student population with career-focused degree programs that lead to strong employment outcomes. One aspect that remains the same is people are what healthcare is about. A resurgence of interest in nurses' roles about social justice requires a clear understanding of the concept. Patient advocacy ends at the bedside; nurses know it begins out in the world. Patients are sometimes at their lowest point upon admittance. Among the patients most directly affected are members of ethnic minorities, immigrant and low-income families, and people living in areas far from accessible care. December 2, 2020. Many, likely experiencing pain. If we can prevent our patients from ever reaching the bedside, then that is the ultimate example of a nurse’s power to heal. In the discipline of population health in particular, ensuring social justice can be one of the most challenging facets of establishing care. The basic needs of the people don't change, including the need fo… It … This concept is an essential belief of the nursing profession (ANA, 2015). Social justice is presented frequently as a core or shared value at the very foundation of nursing practice. So in an effort to curb the suffering we see every day, nurses feel compelled to follow the trajectory of a public health crisis out into the world, where it begins, to prevent our patients from ever becoming sick or injured in the first place. Both the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and the ANA posit that nurses should be concerned with addressing social justice issues that affect their populations, but neither entity defines social justice or what social jus- tice demands of nurses. Nursing literature reflects this shift in the focus of nursing advocacy, providing insight into the potentials and challenges associated with nursing's evolution toward a broader social justice advocacy model. On our days off, nurses will spend our free time fighting to end runaway greed, in the pharmaceutical industry and on Wall Street, because we know firsthand the ways in which our patients suffer when they must choose between paying for their medication or paying off their crushing debt. Nurses pioneered the way and modeled for other professions the importance of patient centered care. There are widespread inequalities that impinge upon public and individual health and well-being. As Falk-Rafael (2005, p. 222) has pointed out, “Nurses practice at the Nursing is difficult. Social justice from a healthcare point of view means members of a population, regardless of social status, would have equal right and access to health care opportunities. Nurses respond to the health needs of people in all settings and throughout the lifespan. Journal of Nursing Education, 41, 446-449. Practitioners obey by it. The legislative and regulatory aspects of healthcare continue to evolve on all governmental levels: local, state, federal, and international. These roles function differently, with the role of ally being directly- and, I would argue, solely- tied to social justice endeavors. This big picture view of healing is why you will see nurses today advocating for a single payer, Medicare for All healthcare system — including California’s nation-leading SB562 (sponsored by the California Nurses Association/NNU), which would guarantee comprehensive healthcare to all Californians. Finally, the American Nurses Association emphasizes the importance of social justice in their ethics and human rights statement asserting that "ethics, human rights, and nursing converge as a formidable instrument for social justice and human rights must be diligently protected and promoted" (Butts & Rich, 2016, Appendix B, p. 483). This organization regularly makes updates to “The Code,” as the field evolves. And even when nurses are fighting for bedside protections, we have spent decades working tirelessly on the aspects of those fights that occur away from the bedside, in the legislative arenas where laws are enacted. Nurse leaders put it into action. Advocating for better public health is not a distraction from our job as bedside nurses; it’s a natural extension of our job as patient advocates and healers. Share your thoughts wisely and professionally. “Social justice implies that there is a fair and equitable distribution of benefits and burdens in a society,” says Nancy Fahrenwald, PhD, RN, for the Nurse Educator. Ill and incapacitated, perhaps alone. Social justice examines how these rights are manifested in the lives of individuals. On top of that, many Americans have to make tough choices about the care and treatment they accept, in regard to personal finances and insurance coverage. 7 Things I Wish I’d Known at 13 About Periods. being for all ages, and clearly nursing has a major role to play in relation to SDG 3. Students of nursing study The Code. And there are so many more nurses who have stood up for social justice throughout history, including: As nurses, we are acutely aware that any threat to the health and safety of our patients can eventually translate into injuries and illnesses that become our job to heal. Patients with chronic conditions. The Benefits of a Hands-On High School Education, The Advantage of Accelerated BSN Programs for Non-Nurses, The American Nurses Association (ANA) Center for Ethics and Human Rights, Master’s of Science in Nursing from Goodwin College, New England Commission of Higher Education. Social justice ideology requires nursing students to uphold moral, legal, and humanistic principles related to health. Social justice is a nursing responsibility. If you see yourself as a change-making agent in the healthcare industry, this is the place to be, right now. Thus, nurses might worry that attending to social justice is an impossible task for the profession given all of these complexities. But the work of nurses also has a major impact on the delivery of other SDGs such as education and poverty – these are often referred to as the social determinants of health (SDH). Still today, nurses in every role are concerned with the well-being of the society, thus all the factors affecting … Often nurses need to balance the duality of working within a market justice healthcare system, while simultaneously embracing social justice for their patient populations. The Public Health Nurse’s Role in Achieving Health Equity: Eliminating Inequalities in Health Introduction The Association of State and Territorial Directors of Nursing (ASTDN) has long espoused the values of health equity and social justice. Long dedicated to closing healthcare gaps, Penn Nursing is committed to health equity and social justice as a central part of the School’s mission. The 2017 NNU-sponsored national safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios bills, for example, (which would put safety limits on how many patients a nurse can be assigned at one time) are the culmination of dedicated work between NNU nurses and elected officials. In general, social justice is the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities. Nurses making impartial medical decisions demonstrate this, whether it relates to limited resources or new treatments regardless of economic status, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. The demands upon us grow greater and patient care grows more complex. Nurses are increasingly challenged to address social and cultural inequalities in their daily work, and this means that relational care- and social justice-based approaches need to be fused in the moral deliberations and actions of nurses. Social justice is a core nursing value and the foundation of public health nursing. In fact, they always have. After all, we are the ones treating the uninsured and underinsured patients who come to us sicker (and who even lose their lives) due to lack of healthcare. Despite its acceptance as a core value, its use is varied and there has been inherent difficulty in establishing a definitive explanation for what is meant by social justice. Nurses vow to advocate for the health and safety of our patients, and when we … This article provides a rationale for assessment for social justice, through which a greater focus is given to the role of assessment in achieving the social justice aspirations of higher education. In this way, The Code serves as an incredibly important cornerstone to upholding social justice in nursing across the country. NNU-sponsored national safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios bills, The Microbiome, The Brain & Mental Health, Trying to Explain Fibromyalgia to a Medical Professional Is Really Impossible, Coroners Blame Mother’s Cannabis Use For Infant’s Death, Three Things I Wish I Knew Before Chemotherapy, 5 Foods That Can Help an Underactive Thyroid. Who better than to uphold the front lines of social justice advocation than nurses? Don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction.” Bill Gates writes these words to live by in his novel, The Road Ahead. The role of an ethically conscious, socially-just nurse is to honor the commitment that he or she has made to uphold the ‘Nursing Code of Ethics,’ through and … Can’t they just stay in the hospital, where they belong?” This question arises from time to time, including this week, as National Nurses United RNs celebrate Nurses Week by gathering in D.C. to lobby members of Congress for their support on Medicare for all, patient protection legislation, and other bills to address social needs. Nurses vow to advocate for the health and safety of our patients, and when we consider the full power of that oath, it’s easy for us to see that the walls of the hospital simply encompass the end result of illnesses and injuries that begin elsewhere. American Journal of Public Health, Supplement, pp. The SDH are the conditions in which Respect of all patients is a right, not a privilege. The definition of social justice revolves around the concept of equality and human rights. According to a 2018 study, the US spends an estimated $93 billio… The role of a nurse is to understand all of the nuances of the challenging state of being a patient. Published by Hazel Marie at December 2, 2020. “Why are nurses out in the street protesting? Service-learning as a model for integrating social justice in the nursing curriculum. As such, teaching social justice requires a basis in moral developmental theory. The American Nurses Association (ANA) Center for Ethics and Human Rights produces healthcare policy that acts as a rubric for nurses nationwide. Public health nurses must be role models and exemplify the principles of social justice, enhance the cultural competence among their staff, and dedicate themselves to closing gaps in health outcomes that impact populations disproportionately. Powers and Faden 9 built a social justice model as a result of their similar struggles to understand what social justice is and what it entails for social and public policy initiatives. Ideally, nurses should strive to assure that everyone who needs care can access the services they need. Why can’t they just stay in the hospital, where they belong?” — it’s important to consider that nurses belong everywhere our patients’ health is in jeopardy. Contact Goodwin College at 800-889-3282 to learn about our MSN nursing program, which can be completed entirely online and in less than two years’ time. Many of the values it puts forth may seem like second nature for nurses, however, they may be at odds with a larger administrative decision or social agenda which affects population health. Their roles are critical in achieving global mandates such as universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. More than half the faculty is focused on research in these areas, and Penn Nursing has the leading Center for Health Equity Research in the country. Feeling fearful, confused, sad, or worried. While discrimination affects social justice on a global level, many leaders strive for human righ… Background: Nursing's involvement in social justice has waned in the recent past. And a special Nurses Week shout out to all nurses, who are constantly standing up for their patients, day in and day out, everywhere it’s necessary. Rarely is this case a reality. The International Council of Nurses, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and the American Nurses Association all note the importance of addressing patients' social as well as health needs. In May 2006, the Association convened its members and an invited panel of community experts in a Nurses rise up for social justice across the U.S. and around the world. How Nurses Can Ensure Social Justice in Care Delivery Rural residents. In a phrase oft-quoted by leaders of every exploding sector, from technology and engineering, to higher education and yes, healthcare, “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years, and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Week 3 project | BUS3055 December 2, 2020. essay about: the effects of poverty on an individual. It pertains to the opportunities, privileges, and wealth of people around the world. Not if nurses can help it. 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