Before completing this course, it was rather difficult to realize how much influence individual healthcare providers and nurses can have on policy making processes. Currently, it is possible to understand what actions may be and need to be taken in order to affect the development and application of certain policies and how it is possible to contribute to policy improvement. Without a structured explanation of the organization and operations of the health care system of the United States, it was difficult to understand the professional’s role in this system without focusing on care delivery (Austin & Wetle, 2017). The analysis of funding, politics, policies, and standards, among other issues connected with the US healthcare system and nursing has allowed creating a full picture to understand the outcomes of all policy-related processes.
The received knowledge is important to be applied in a professional career and practice because it is necessary to know how the system works. Physicians and nurses operate as part of a large and complex healthcare system of the United States, and there are many internal and external factors that influence the quality of provided medical services and care (Austin & Wetle, 2017). These factors need to be studied in addition to developing the practical skills of a nurse. In many cases, specific policies and regulations adopted in hospitals in some states differ significantly from policies in other states. Nurses need to understand the political and regulatory specifics of the professional environment in which they plan to work. Therefore, it is possible to state that the knowledge gained in this course will be actively applied to practice in order to ensure that all activities correlate with existing policies, standards, and norms.
Reference
Austin, A., & Wetle, V. (2017). The United States health care system: Combining business, health, and delivery (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.