Advocacy Letter: Nurses and Patient Ratio Staffing
An advocacy letter is a way to influence the ideas and views of legislators or decision makers within an organization. It allows the writer to maintain contact with the legislator or decision maker, to keep the issue high on the priority list when the writer cannot meet with them personally.
The format of the advocacy letter should be written in a standard letter format. Proper title and language should be used. It should not be more than two pages long, as to increase the chances that the letter will be read by the legislator, his or her staff or decision maker.
The advocacy letter should contain the following components:
• Addressing the Letter – If the letter is concerning a Federal or State Bill or issue, it should be addressed to the Member of Congress or State Legislator who represents the student or if the issue is more local, it should be addressed to the decision makers who would be most concerned with the issue. Use the correct salutation.
• Introduction – Introduce yourself and offer a concise statement about the reason for the advocacy letter. If discussing a specific legislative bill, include the bill number.
• Health Policy Issue - In one to two paragraphs, accurately describe the issues raised, provide a clear position in favor of or opposed to, and offer specific examples of your concerns. Personal stories work well here. THE HEALTH POLICY ISSUE TO BE ADDRESSED IS “NURSE: PATIENT RATIO STAFFING”.
• Legislative or Advocacy Recommendations - Directly ask for the action you are requesting. State why your position is important to that person and the constituents he or she is associated with.
• Closing – Develop a closing statement and provide your contact information for any follow-up questions or to act as a resource for further information.
Components of the Advocacy Letter:
• Addressing the letter – The letter should be addressed to the appropriate person, who can best address the advocacy issue. Use the correct salutation.
• Introduction – Introduce yourself; offer a concise statement about the reason for the letter. Include bill number if addressing a specific legislative issue.
• Health Policy Issue – Accurately and concisely describes the issue raised and provides a clear position (in favor or opposed) and offers a personal story or example concerning the issue.
• Legislative or Advocacy Recommendations - Directly ask for the action you are requesting. Give examples of why should be important to this person.
• Closing – Develop a closing statement and provide your contact information for follow-up contact or request for further information.
• References – Two in a separate page, in APA format (7th edition). References should not be more than 5 years old.
Senate Office Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator,
I am XX, a nursing student and a resident within your constitutional jurisdiction. I am writing to request opposition to the mandatory staffing policy, which impacts the nurse-patient staffing ratio. Under S.1132 of the Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act of 2015, Congress introduced general guidelines stipulating staffing laws to be followed, and final decisions were left to respective states. One of the guidelines I oppose is for legislators to mandate nurses to specific patient numbers. This is because the policy has serious long-term consequences that would eventually lead to crippling the healthcare system.
The staffing policy may not blend with reforming healthcare organization processes and facilities striving to ensure better patient outcomes. Mandating staffing of nurses will create more challenges as they work to ensure availability but not the quality of care. Arguably, an insufficient staffing ratio directly affects patient safety and satisfaction, but it will result in additional hospital costs to be implicated to patients. Olley et al. (2018) show that mandatory staffing can decrease workload but does not ensure full utilization of nurses' experiences. Therefore, the policy harms the nursing workforce as it does not consider a given unit's skills, experiences, education level, or specialized training. There is also the crucial aspect of funding; with more nurses being assigned, it is left to the hospitals to fund them. This greatly limits the operations of many hospitals, especially the small ones or those with specialized duties. With little or no funds to operate, some might even be closed down.
It is worth noting that there is a serious need for enough thought and consideration when it comes to nursing numbers. The nurse-to-patient ration ...