The American Nurses Associations (ANA) is a health organization that is aimed to improve the quality of healthcare all across the country. Their main goals include protecting the nurses’ rights and raising the standards for the nursing practice. In their 2020-2023 strategic plan, the association describes its mission to achieve “a healthy world through the power of nursing” and “lead the profession to shape the future of nursing and health care” (American Nurse Association, 2020, p. 1). The association members have computed the set of objectives that would help them reach the goals representing their mission. The achievement of these objectives will significantly improve patients’ outcomes, which, in turn, will increase the quality of health care for all.
These objectives can be addressed at the different levels of organization such as macro-, meso-, and micro-level. On the example of rural nurse practitioners in Australia, Smith et al. (2019) describe the enablers of each level, which can be compared to the organizational structure of the ANA. The staff of the macro-level is responsible for the regulatory systems, such as providing job opportunities and setting the health policies for other employees to follow.
For example, one of the objectives that can be attributed to this level is “to advance workforce priorities and improve the work environment across diverse practice settings” (American Nurse Association, 2020, p. 3). Malaska (2018) describes that even though this level addresses “many social, economic, and environmental factors” on the global scale, nursing individuals are an integral part of ensuring the proper regulatory support (p. 221). Therefore, by approaching the nurses directly and receiving their valuable feedback, the employees at the macro-level are capable of providing better working environments.
The meso-level is the intermediate level that helps to coordinate the micro-level systems and accommodate the nursing staff in the managerial sector. Malaska (2018) uses the promotion of health literacy education as an example of a meso-level goal. One of the objectives of the ANA (2020) is to “promote equity, diversity, and inclusion across the ANA Enterprise to encourage culturally informed workplace practices” (p. 5). The education of the nursing staff on the diversity issues is a part of health literacy, which places this objective on the meso-level. However, inclusivity should be achieved not only among the general nursing staff but also at the top level of management; therefore, this objective integrates with all three levels of the organization.
The micro-level represents the direct interaction of the nursing staff with patients, such as customer assistance. The micro-level objective of the ANA is to increase customers’ loyalty, which can be achieved through creating “relevant customer-centric journeys and experiences based on data and voice of the customer” (American Nurse Association, 2020, p. 3). Proper personal attention towards the patient is the backbone of the nursing organization, which represents the level of quality of the entire healthcare delivery system.
In conclusion, the comprehensive integration of nurses in all levels of the healthcare delivery systems significantly improves the quality of the provided healthcare to the patients. Nurses should be allowed to participate in the policy-making processes, work collaboratively with the management and the administrations, and have a reliable support system. Such an environment increases their leadership skills, creates more opportunities for their professional development, and improves the safety not only of the staff but also of patients.
References
American Nurses Association. (2020). ANAE Strategic Plan 2020 – 2023. Web.
Malaska, R. H. (2018). Chronic health conditions in the disparities population, the impact on practice settings, sociopolitical factors and stakeholders; one US city’s solutions to address the issues and how nurses can advocate for change–a DNP nurse reflection. Journal of Anesthesia & Critical Care: Open Access, 10(6), 220-222. Web.
Smith, T., McNeil, K., Mitchell, R., Boyle, B., & Ries, N. (2019). A study of macro-, meso- and micro-barriers and enablers affecting extended scopes of practice: The case of rural nurse practitioners in Australia. BMC Nursing, 18(1), 1-12. Web.