Nurses will be expected to hold executive positions in academia and clinical settings, calling for highly developed political skills to negotiate challenging environments and organizations. To ensure that patients receive the expected care, nurse leaders must have the traits and abilities to lead others successfully. One of these qualities of a leader is “political competence,” which refers to having the necessary skills and knowledge to engage in political issues that impact the nurse’s position as a professional in a particular circumstance (Waring et al., 2022). In addition, the external environment they interact with and the followers they have power over are primarily influenced by leaders. Because of this, leaders are in a powerful situation to affect both environments.

           The fact is that any nurse has a voice in local, state, and federal politics and policy. Nurses can become politically involved locally by taking on leadership roles within the healthcare system or speaking with elected officials about legislation affecting the sector (Caballero et al., 2022). In addition, by joining a professional nursing group, nurses can participate in politics and policy at the state and federal levels. Politically competent leaders seek to improve health outcomes for patients and communities by formulating and influencing macro-level public policies on a larger scale that consider the available data, clinical experience, and user viewpoints. A nurse leader could exhibit political skill at the state level by pushing initiatives to enhance healthcare policies. For instance, a nurse leader might support legislation that would increase money for nursing education, address the nursing shortage, and encourage access to affordable healthcare (Clarke et al., 2020).

While studying, I came across a politically proficient nurse, Karen Bass. In 2011 she was chosen to serve as the 112th Congresswomen (Diane, 2023). She founded and supervised the Neighborhood Coalition in LA before becoming a representative. The Neighborhood Coalition is a neighborhood-based group that promotes social justice and strives to involve neighborhood residents in addressing inequality locally. 

References

Caballero, G. V., Maicas, M. P., Sorzano, S. T., Nitto, M. D., Rozensztrauch, A., & Vela, J. R. (2022). Nursing, commitment, and leadership: More nurses for a better health care model¥ a nurse to be a leader. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(10), 6223. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19106223

Clarke, J. M., Waring, J., Bishop, S., Hartley, J., Exworthy, M., Fulop, N., Ramsay, A., & Roe, B. (2020). The contribution of political skill to the implementation of Health Services Change: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-109608/v1

Diane, B. (2023.). H.R.3393 – 113th congress (2013-2014): Student and family tax. Congress.Gov. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/3393

Waring, J., Bishop, S., Black, G., Clarke, J. M., Exworthy, M., Fulop, N. J., Hartley, J., Ramsay, A., & Roe, B. (2022). Understanding the political skills and behaviours for leading the implementation of Health Services Change: A qualitative interview study. International Journal of Health Policy and Management. https://doi.org/10.34172/ijhpm.2022.6564