Future Perspectives on Nursing Policy, Technology, Education, and Practice.

This article addresses the relationship of governmental laws and regulations and private sector policies to nurse practice. Integration of the policy process in nurse education curricula is discussed in relationship to the potential to effect sustainable, equitable policy change and prepare nurses who are ready to assume leadership roles. Nurse input in the selection, use, and evaluation of technology in education, practice, and policy is framed within the leadership role of the basic and advanced nurse.

A code of ethics for nurse educators: revised.

Nurse educators have the responsibility of assisting students and their colleagues with understanding and practicing ethical conduct. There is an inherent responsibility to keep codes current and relevant for existing nursing practice. The code presented here is a revision of the Code of ethics for nurse educators originally published in 1983 and includes changes that are intended to provide for that relevancy.

The perianesthesia nurse as advocate in the policy arena: driving the health care agenda.

Nurses must become leaders in creating public policy that is relevant to health care. Understanding the extent of the policy process-the components, models, and processes-will provide a framework for the nurse to work in the policy arena and effect change in a positive way.

The culture of safety.

A new paradigm is emerging as a result of the Institute of Medicine reports on medical errors. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, state licensing boards, academic institutions, and health care businesses are considering their missions and goals vis-à-vis a culture of patient safety. The author presents three examples that converge to indicate that the culture of safety represents a paradigm shift for the education, delivery, funding, and evaluation of health and medical care. The system, not the individual, must be recognized as the problem; reprimanding the person who committed an error is not a solution. Health care delivery systems that reduce this potential for error must be created.

Interweaving policy and diversity.

Nurses too often consider that direct patient care is the only focus of nursing. However, the role of the nurse is broader than that of direct care and encompasses many components, all of which must be integrated into the self of the nurse. Political activity and policy formation are two areas of nursing that are misunderstood and are not adopted enthusiastically by many nurses. This article examines the whole policy process that includes agenda setting; government response via laws, regulations and programs; policy/program implementation; and policy/program evaluation. The process is then linked to the concept of diversity to illustrate the need, ease and opportunity for nurse involvement.

Leapfrog Group: a prince in disguise or just another frog?

Executive directors, presidents, chief executive officers of some of the principal nursing organizations, and other nurse leaders in the United States were interviewed to ascertain their reactions to the recommendations of the Leapfrog Group, a coalition of more than 90 companies that employ large numbers of workers in the United States. The Leapfrog Group is concerned with patient safety and was formed in response to the Institute of Medicine's report on health care errors. Three recommendations for urban hospitals focus on computerized physician order entry, evidence-based hospital referral, and the use of intensivists.