Nursing representation in decision making
Nurses have made significant contributions to the healthcare and health industry for generations now. The nurse to doctor ratio is approximated to be 3:1, yet nurses miss in action when it comes to healthcare policymaking.
One of the main contributions to the lack of nursing representation in decision making is gender inequality. A 2019 global report indicated that 70 % of nurses globally are females, yet only 25% of the nurses have leadership roles. Porter-O’Grady and Malloch 2016 state that for the longest time, the nursing profession has faced a recognition problem due to “nursing’s lack of power, position, place, and role in healthcare policy decision-making.” The gender inequality could be a result of the traditional view of a woman- passive, secondary to patronizing roles, and subordinates. Such a view of women as made it difficult for them to assume leadership roles where they can directly influence the healthcare policymaking process. Also, female nurses face the effects of glass-ceiling, whereby they are prevented from progressing professionally due to domestic responsibilities. Therefore, there are very few nurses who have advanced professionally hence the limited opportunity for nurses to participate in healthcare policymaking. Majority of the female nurses lack self-confidence; therefore, they want to stick to their profession- patient care (Shariff, 2014). They are quite hesitant to advocate for their participation in healthcare policymaking, hence the limited involvement in the healthcare policymaking processes. Therefore, it is time women embrace their masculinity and advocate for their participation in healthcare policymaking where they can introduce patient-centered policies, ensuring patient safety and quality healthcare services.
References
Porter-O’Grady, T. & Malloch, K. (2016). Leadership in nursing practice: Changing the landscape of health care (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning
Shariff, N. (2014). Factors that act as facilitators and barriers to nurse leaders’ participation in health policy development. BMC Nurs. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6955-13-20