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Hello, thank you for sharing your insight on the need for a professional organization or committee in your practice area. I agree that a professional organization in correctional nursing practice would help enhance the quality and efficiency of service delivery in this area. Even though you are not a member of any organization, I recommend joining the American Correctional Nurses Association (ACNA), which advocates for the nurses and patients in the correctional department acting as the voice for correctional nursing (ACNA, n.d.). ACNA organizes correctional nurses while advocating for enhanced patient care for professional parity, network development, and public visibility. It also aims at expanding correctional nursing to ensure high standards of professionalism are maintained in correctional healthcare (ACNA, n.d.).
You have also provided your insight on nurses’ involvement in politics. Even though engaging in politics may be unappealing, I see it as an essential act by nurses as they try to enhance the quality of care. Being involved in politics does not mean you are deviating from your job. When nurses fail to engage in politics, their voices end up being unheard, adversely affecting service delivery quality. Even though it is normal for nurses to dislike politics and political actions, they have a critical role in fostering and revising policies at the macro, meso, and micro levels (Wilson et al., 2022). There are different ways in which nurses may engage in politics. They may be elected in a political office that you do not support or provide scientific advice, preset patient and nurse grievances through public actions and professional associations, which is recommended. Nurses have a critical role to play in ensuring that the community, families, and individuals have access to optimal levels of health (Wilson et al., 2022). This is by using their unique, broad-based scientific perspectives to make substantive changes in health design and social policies to advance people’s health and well-being.
References
American Correctional Nurses Association (ACNA). (n.d.). American Correctional Nurses’ Association. American Correctional Nurses Association | Nursing Network. https://acna.nursingnetwork.com/#:~:text=American%20Correctional%20Nurses%20Association%20%7C%20Nursing%20Network
Wilson, D. M., Underwood, L., Kim, S., Olukotun, M., & Errasti-Ibarrondo, B. (2022). How and why nurses became involved in politics or political action, and the outcomes or impacts of this involvement. Nursing Outlook, 70(1), 55-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2021.07.008