49 Week 1

Advocacy is a fundamental component of professional nursing practice and essential to quality patient care. For this week’s discussion, please address the following. Ensure you incorporate content from the required reading to support your content.

Part 1: Define Nurse Advocacy

• In your own words, what does nurse advocacy mean to you as a nursing professional?
• How would you explain the concept of advocacy to someone outside the healthcare field?

Part 2: Types of Advocacy

• Describe patient advocacy and its role in nursing practice
• Describe professional advocacy and its role in nursing practice
• How do these two types of advocacy differ, and how might they overlap in your daily work?

Part 3: Importance of Both Types

• Explain why patient advocacy is crucial to quality nursing care and patient outcomes
• Explain why professional advocacy is important for the nursing profession and healthcare system
• What might happen if nurses neglect either type of advocacy?

Part 4: Personal Practice Examples

• Provide a specific example from your own clinical experience where you engaged in patient advocacy (maintain confidentiality by using no identifying information)
• Provide a specific example from your own experience where you engaged in professional advocacy or witnessed it in action
• Reflect on how these experiences shaped your understanding of your role as a nurse advocate

I’ve made sure to open the week 1 article. Please site 1 scholars nursing source. Less than 5 years

Title page must only say Institution

I’ve included the guidelines for this discussion please carefully read through everything.

Here is a brief paragraph of information that must be provided in this discussion. Please be sure to site references as well. Thanks you

Collaborative leadership and patient- and family-centered care are essential components of professional nursing practice. Effective nurse leaders play a critical role in fostering interprofessional collaboration to improve patient outcomes and healthcare quality. According to Mason et al. (2020), nursing leadership extends beyond bedside care and includes influencing policy, advocating for system-level change, and promoting teamwork across disciplines. Collaborative leadership strengthens communication, accountability, and shared decision-making within healthcare teams, ultimately enhancing safety and quality outcomes.

The American Nurses Association (ANA, 2015a; 2015b; 2015c) emphasizes that professional nursing practice is grounded in ethical responsibility, advocacy, and patient-centered care. The Code of Ethics for Nurses reinforces the nurses duty to respect patient autonomy and promote transparency, which aligns with initiatives such as sharing clinical information with patients and families. Additionally, the Scope and Standards of Practice and Nursings Social Policy Statement highlight the nurse leaders responsibility to coordinate care, engage families, and contribute to collaborative, evidence-based practice environments.

Shifting from task-oriented care to collaborative, patient- and family-focused practice reflects the professions ethical and social commitment to holistic care. In high-acuity settings such as the intensive care unit, integrating families into care planning supports trust, improves satisfaction, and aligns treatment decisions with patient values. Nurse leaders are instrumental in creating organizational cultures that support open communication, shared governance, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Overall, collaborative leadership and patient-centered care are not optional components of nursing practice but foundational expectations supported by professional standards and health policy frameworks.

American Nurses Association. (2015a). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. American Nurses Association.

American Nurses Association. (2015b). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). American Nurses Association.

American Nurses Association. (2015c). Nursings social policy statement: The essence of the profession (3rd ed.). American Nurses Association.

Mason, D. J., Dickson, E. L., McLemore, M. R., & Perez, G. A. (2020). Policy & politics in nursing and health care (8th ed.). Elsevier.