Attitudes of Nursing Students Regarding Nurses' Involvement in Health Care Policy: A New Model Predicting Future Involvement

Legislative Advocacy on Capitol Hill: Experiential Learning for Nursing and Midwifery Students

BACKGROUND

Policies, regulations, and laws influence all aspects of health care, including the education of health care professionals, independent practice, and patient access to care. Health equity and social justice are mediated through policy.

PROBLEM

While health policy knowledge and skills are recognized as essential competencies within nursing and midwifery curricula, most students graduate with limited or no experience engaging in advocacy efforts to advance legislation that would improve health systems and the delivery of care.

APPROACH

An experiential learning activity is described that gives students authentic experience in federal legislative advocacy.

OUTCOMES

Students report powerful, positive learning from interacting with their legislators.

CONCLUSION

Support of a legislative advocacy experiential learning activity requires ongoing faculty initiative and can promote advancement of health policy bills into law. Opportunities to participate in legislative advocacy need to be expanded within nursing and midwifery education to cultivate leaders who can effect policy change.

A Transformative Learning Experience for Senior Nursing Students

BACKGROUND

Research suggests that clinical practicums in hospital-based settings are important, even if condensed, to provide students with the opportunity for real-world learning experiences. Rational dialogue makes learning meaningful and empowers students to learn by reflecting on experiences.

PROBLEM

The COVID-19 pandemic minimized availability of traditional one-to-one mentorship practicums.

APPROACH

This article describes the use of critical reflection on experiences in an undergraduate senior mentorship course to assess student learning through the thematic analysis of writing assignments. Guided by Mezirow's transformative learning theory, students completed a traditional group clinical practice, written reflective journals and virtual seminars focused on role development, and reflection on concurrent learning in clinical and simulation experiences.

OUTCOMES

Transformative learning was evident in their writing. Student journals demonstrated themes of responding to change, discovering resilience, developing confidence, finding gratitude, embracing advocacy, and transforming and becoming.

CONCLUSIONS

Through critical reflection, students recognized the opportunities mentorship afforded them, despite challenges.