What do you think?
Rate this book
Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care
Learn how to influence policy and become a leader in today's changing health care environment. Featuring analysis of cutting-edge healthcare issues and first-person insights, Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care, 8th Edition continues to be the leading text on nursing action and activism. Approximately 150 expert contributors present a wide range of topics in policies and politics, providing a more complete background than can be found in any other policy textbook on the market. This expanded 8th edition helps you develop a global understanding of nursing leadership and political activism, as well as the complex business and financial issues that drive many actions in the health system. Discussions include the latest updates on conflict management, health economics, lobbying, the use of media, and working with communities for change. With these innovative insights and strategies, you will be prepared to play a leadership role in the four spheres in which nurses are politically active: the workplace, government, professional organizations, and the community.
Comprehensive coverage of healthcare policies and politics provides a broader understanding of nursing leadership and political activism, as well as complex business and financial issues. Key Points at the end of chapters helps you review important, need-to-know lesson content. Taking Action essays include personal accounts of how nurses have participated in politics and what they have accomplished. Expert authors make up a virtual Nursing Who's Who in healthcare policy, sharing information and personal perspectives gained in the crafting of healthcare policy. NEW! The latest information and perspectives are provided by nursing leaders who influenced health care reform, including the Affordable Care Act. NEW! Added information on medical marijuana presents both sides of this ongoing debate. NEW! More information on health care policy and the aging population covers the most up-do-date information on this growing population. NEW! Expanded information on the Globalization of Nursing explores international policies and procedures related to nursing around the world. NEW! Expanded focus on media strategies details proper etiquette when speaking with the press. NEW! Expanded coverage of primary care models and issues throughout text. NEW! APRN and additional Taking Action chapters reflect the most recent industry changes. NEW! Perspectives on issues and challenges in the government sphere showcase recent strategies and complications.641 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 30, 2013
187 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 30, 2025
Atrocious. Less of a textbook, more of a disorganized collection of essays that vary widely in quality, context, and usefulness.
Some chapters appear to have no editing whatsoever, filled with spelling and grammatical mistakes, and completely diverging from the style and structure of the other chapters.
An early chapter repeatedly confuses percentages with percentage points. A middle chapter is written almost exclusively in an object, subject, verb sentence structure and is borderline unreadable. A late chapter discusses the benefits of cannabis to ‘supporting the endocannabinoid system’ with no citations and sounds closer to ‘balancing the humours’ than it does to evidence based nursing practice.
Prepare to read the definition of the Social Determinants of Health over a dozen times, each with its own flair based on that chapter’s author. The same issue is repeated with the definition of policy, politics, advocacy, etc.
There are citations for things that hadn’t happened yet (e.g. a statistic for 2017 accompanied by a citation to a 2014 study).
It’s understandable to have experts write specific subject matter, but how can someone be an expert in legal nursing when they don’t know the difference between precedence and precedent (at least they didn’t mix it up with president?).
One chapter refers you to courses on a for-profit Nursing CE website, presumably that the chapter author wrote, but I don’t have the desire to check and the book seems fine with going by vibes instead of citations.
I would honestly estimate at least 25% of the text is comprised of different chapter authors literally just repeating what was already written in earlier chapters.
There were a number of very interesting and engaging chapters about nurses’ personal experiences, but these were the exception rather than the rule. I would honestly be embarrassed to have my own writing surrounded by the nonsense in these pages.
There is a painfully non-critical perspective on the Affordable Care Act, and the authors repeatedly blame any failure on the act as the result of partisanship, state resistance, and attempts to repeal it. I personally think the ACA has been a net benefit, but has drawbacks like all major attempts at reform. How can we improve if we refuse to take a critical look at the interventions we’ve made?! There is zero discussion on the impact of expanding access without commensurate efforts to expand capacity.
They repeatedly talk about the importance of RNs being bachelor prepared, but they do not include any of the ample evidence of its positive impact on patient outcomes, nor the potential drawbacks by cutting out the most diverse section of newly graduated nurses (ADNs).
It’s an embarrassment to the nursing profession that this is apparently one of the most common textbooks for teaching Policy in DNP programs.
Some chapters appear to have no editing whatsoever, filled with spelling and grammatical mistakes, and completely diverging from the style and structure of the other chapters.
An early chapter repeatedly confuses percentages with percentage points. A middle chapter is written almost exclusively in an object, subject, verb sentence structure and is borderline unreadable. A late chapter discusses the benefits of cannabis to ‘supporting the endocannabinoid system’ with no citations and sounds closer to ‘balancing the humours’ than it does to evidence based nursing practice.
Prepare to read the definition of the Social Determinants of Health over a dozen times, each with its own flair based on that chapter’s author. The same issue is repeated with the definition of policy, politics, advocacy, etc.
There are citations for things that hadn’t happened yet (e.g. a statistic for 2017 accompanied by a citation to a 2014 study).
It’s understandable to have experts write specific subject matter, but how can someone be an expert in legal nursing when they don’t know the difference between precedence and precedent (at least they didn’t mix it up with president?).
One chapter refers you to courses on a for-profit Nursing CE website, presumably that the chapter author wrote, but I don’t have the desire to check and the book seems fine with going by vibes instead of citations.
I would honestly estimate at least 25% of the text is comprised of different chapter authors literally just repeating what was already written in earlier chapters.
There were a number of very interesting and engaging chapters about nurses’ personal experiences, but these were the exception rather than the rule. I would honestly be embarrassed to have my own writing surrounded by the nonsense in these pages.
There is a painfully non-critical perspective on the Affordable Care Act, and the authors repeatedly blame any failure on the act as the result of partisanship, state resistance, and attempts to repeal it. I personally think the ACA has been a net benefit, but has drawbacks like all major attempts at reform. How can we improve if we refuse to take a critical look at the interventions we’ve made?! There is zero discussion on the impact of expanding access without commensurate efforts to expand capacity.
They repeatedly talk about the importance of RNs being bachelor prepared, but they do not include any of the ample evidence of its positive impact on patient outcomes, nor the potential drawbacks by cutting out the most diverse section of newly graduated nurses (ADNs).
It’s an embarrassment to the nursing profession that this is apparently one of the most common textbooks for teaching Policy in DNP programs.
Want to read
January 21, 2021WY 16 P7662 2002
August 10, 2021
Not my cup of tea, but provided some interesting examples of how nursing can impact policy, politics, and economics.
April 20, 2024
read for MSN 601 — a bit scattered, biased, & dry
February 5, 2012
I find it hard to take this book seriously. Any scholarly content is obscured by the fact that the authors use Dictionary.com as a cited resource, and frequently refer to the last edition of this textbook as a reference.
And while I'm personally (mostly) in favor of the new healthcare legislation, the authors have really drunk the Kool-Aid. This is unfortunate because a good portion of that legislation is being disputed by states and will likely be repealed in the next year or two - which will require yet another edition! I just get the feeling that the information from this book will be outdated... well, now. They actually have a chapter that teaches you how to use the fax machine and voicemail - or if you're really cutting edge, check out MySpace and Digg (Ch. 11, p. 111 and 113, respectively).
The authors have a pretty significant obstacle in creating a "current" textbook, especially in this current climate - things change too rapidly to have a comprehensive modern politics textbook. I think that the authors would have been better off sticking to theory and process rather than trying to keep up with this decade's changes.
As a young, politically-engaged nurse, this book is just painful.
And while I'm personally (mostly) in favor of the new healthcare legislation, the authors have really drunk the Kool-Aid. This is unfortunate because a good portion of that legislation is being disputed by states and will likely be repealed in the next year or two - which will require yet another edition! I just get the feeling that the information from this book will be outdated... well, now. They actually have a chapter that teaches you how to use the fax machine and voicemail - or if you're really cutting edge, check out MySpace and Digg (Ch. 11, p. 111 and 113, respectively).
The authors have a pretty significant obstacle in creating a "current" textbook, especially in this current climate - things change too rapidly to have a comprehensive modern politics textbook. I think that the authors would have been better off sticking to theory and process rather than trying to keep up with this decade's changes.
As a young, politically-engaged nurse, this book is just painful.
December 13, 2011
Totally slanted view of how ObamaCare is going to save the world. A waste of money for "required" book for school (Masters Program for Nurse Practitioner). I made it through about 10 pages before becoming nauseated
February 17, 2015
This was abook required for one of my courses, thought it would be dry and that I would find it hard to stay involved. I actually enjoyed reading through it, not for everyone but for professional nurses..a must read!
January 1, 2012
Insanely awesome resource on health policy and politics - and I have a signed copy :-)
April 26, 2013
Some chapters were better than others. Glad to be done.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews