A strong majority of opinion leaders say nurses should have more influence on U.S. healthcare policy, planning and management, according to a recent national survey.
“It seems incredible that at a time when our challenges are the worst that they ever have been and are getting more complex, that we would somehow not make use of all of our assets,” said Reed V. Tuckson, MD, executive vice president and chief of medical affairs at the UnitedHealth Group.
The first-of-its-kind “Nursing Leadership from Bedside to Boardroom: Opinion Leaders’ Perceptions” survey was conducted by Gallup on behalf of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Gallup interviewed 1,504 opinion leaders across key roles and industries for the survey from Aug. 18-Oct. 30, 2009.
The survey found that opinion leaders view nurses as one of the most trusted sources of health information, but see them as having less influence on healthcare reform than government, insurance and pharmaceutical executives and others.
“The biggest problem with the debate is that we’re not looking at things that can increase availability and access to care and can increase affordability,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell. “And unleashing the power of nurses is one of them.”
“Nurses are tailor-made for a quality equation that bridges multiple care episodes,” Tuckson added.
One option to clear up hospital emergency department traffic, limit wait times and reduce costs would be to include non-emergency care rooms staffed with nurse practitioners and an attending physician assistant, according to Rendell. Services provided in such settings would cost about half the price of an ED visit, experts say.
“One barrier to getting nurses more involved is that doctors generate more revenue,” said Gail Wilensky, senior fellow at Project HOPE and former administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services). “Nurses are not viewed in the same light, and sometimes (are viewed) as a cost component.”
Physicians also have money to campaign for their issues and are more often heard because of it. Nurses don’t have that kind of money, but have the opportunity to “campaign” by talking to their patients, Wilensky said.
“The changes that are being discussed in the delivery system, that focus more on outcomes, will fundamentally begin to change the dynamics in favor of nursing,” said Wilensky. “This is where they excel.”
The survey suggests that training and research are the two important points on which to focus when trying to empower nurses in the healthcare industry.
“It will be difficult to change the power structure – it’s hard for anyone to give away the power – you either have to earn it or take it,” said Wilensky. “A better gender mix in the nursing industry would also help; wages and reimbursement are driven down in a female-dominated field.”