The Nurse as Advocate

Advocacy is a professional responsibility for nurses. The third provision in the Code of Ethics for Nurses states that "The nurse promotes, advocates for and strives to protect the health, safety and rights of the patient." In addition, professional nursing associations also advocate for patients and the nursing profession.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Consider how a nurse can be an advocate and how professional organizations help promote change.

Examine the Web site of a nursing association (the Emergency Nurses Association, for example) and explore its advocacy efforts. (Make sure to note the association and its Web site in APA format in your posting.) Then, review your resources from this week and address the following:

1. How are nurses and professional nursing associations advocate for patients, the public, the profession, or improvements in health care?

2. Include how the role of advocate addresses social justice and how the role may change in the future.

3. What strategies can be used by both nurses and professional associations to continue the push for change in health care?

4. Support your ideas or those of others with references from the professional nursing literature.