New here? Get 15% off your first order.See how it works

Nursing questions
Discussion postHealth policy advocacy

How can you develop your level of advocacy, or perhaps, encourage others to step out of their comfort zone?

The inventory measures where you are. The prompt then asks two different questions, and the second one, about moving colleagues, is a leadership problem.

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 25, 2026

01

The second question is about other people, not you

The inventory gives you a starting point and the honest response to it is more useful than an aspirational one, since a post claiming a high level of political engagement leaves nothing to develop. What makes the personal half concrete is a ladder rather than a resolution: knowing who represents you and what committees they sit on, joining a professional association's advocacy list, submitting a comment on a proposed rule during its comment period, giving evidence to a board, and serving on a policy committee are successively larger steps and each is checkable. Naming which rung you are on and which one is next is what the question is asking for. Naming the rung you are on and the one immediately above it is what the question is asking for, and it is far more useful than a statement of intent to be more engaged.

The second half is different in kind and it is the one the prompt is really testing, because encouraging others out of their comfort zone is a leadership problem and it fails when it is attempted as exhortation. Nurses who avoid advocacy usually have reasons that are worth engaging: no time, a belief that it changes nothing, uncertainty about what is permissible to say as an employee, and fear of professional consequences for a public position. Each has a response. Time is met by lowering the cost of the first action; futility is met by a concrete instance where nursing advocacy changed a rule; uncertainty is met by naming the distinction between speaking as a private citizen and speaking for an employer; and fear is met by structures that make advocacy collective rather than individual. Point at the mechanism your organisation already has, since a council with a seat at the table is the vehicle the question names.

Likely learning objectives

  • Answer a self-inventory honestly rather than aspirationally.
  • Describe advocacy development as a ladder of checkable steps.
  • Engage the actual reasons colleagues avoid advocacy.
  • Use shared governance as the structure that makes advocacy collective.

Assignment instructions

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

NU636 Unit 6 DQ 2 This assessment addresses the following learning objective(s): Consider the role of government and various professional organizations in the process of planning and implementing policies at managements levels for diverse healthcare environments. Instructions Complete the quiz Politics and Policy Self-Inventory Download Politics and Policy Self-Inventory[Word Document] Reflect on your answers to the quiz. Are there areas you wish to change? How can you develop your level of advocacy, or perhaps, encourage others to step out of their comfort zone? Consider what is needed for you to lead political advocacy and shared governance in policy-making in your organization, and profession. Share those ideas! Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format. The post and responses are valued at 20 points. Please review post and response expectations. Please review the rubric to ensure that your response meets criteria. Estimated time to complete: 2 Hours NU636 Unit 6 Discussion 2 – Politics and Policy Self-Inventory Instructions: Offer constructive feedback to your classmates. Consider ways you can encourage them to step into a greater role of activism or elevate others to do so. Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format. Estimated time to complete: 1 Hour

Course-wide instructions that accompany this question

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS Discussion Questions (DQ) Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. NU636 Unit 6 DQ 2 One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses. Weekly Participation Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. APA Format and Writing Quality Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition. Use of Direct Quotes I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source. LopesWrite Policy For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score. Late Policy The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading. Communication Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

02

What Unit 6 DQ 2 requires

  1. 01Completion of the Politics and Policy Self-Inventory and reflection on your answers.
  2. 02Identification of areas you wish to change.
  3. 03How you can develop your level of advocacy.
  4. 04How you might encourage others to step out of their comfort zone.
  5. 05What is needed for you to lead political advocacy and shared governance in policy-making in your organisation and profession.
  6. 06Opinions and ideas validated with citations and references in APA format, plus constructive responses to classmates.
03

Inventory, development, and shared governance

01

What the inventory showed

Report your current level honestly, including gaps.

What the assessor is likely looking for

Honesty that leaves room to develop.

02

The advocacy ladder

Set out successive steps from awareness to committee service.

What the assessor is likely looking for

Steps that could be verified.

03

Your next step

Name the specific action you will take and when.

What the assessor is likely looking for

An action with a timeframe.

04

Why colleagues hold back

Identify time, futility, permissibility and fear.

What the assessor is likely looking for

Reasons taken seriously.

05

Responses to each

Match a specific response to each reason.

What the assessor is likely looking for

Responses rather than encouragement.

06

Shared governance as the vehicle

Show how an existing structure makes advocacy collective.

What the assessor is likely looking for

An existing mechanism identified.

04

Where the advocacy evidence sits

Recommended databases

  • American Nurses Association
  • PubMed Central
  • AANP
  • NCSBN

Search sequence

  1. 1.Read the professional association's advocacy resources for the ladder's rungs.
  2. 2.Find a documented instance where nursing advocacy changed a policy.
  3. 3.Look up shared governance literature for the collective structure.
  4. 4.Check guidance on speaking as an employee versus as a professional.
05

Reference shortlist

These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.

Advocating for Nurses and Nursing

OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing · 2012

Review before citing

Advocating for nurses, for the professional case and its history.

State Practice Environment

American Association of Nurse Practitioners · 2024

Review before citing

State practice environment, as an example of policy that advocacy has moved.

Official Position Statements

American Nurses Association · 2024

Review before citing

ANA position statements, for the profession's collective voice in practice.

06

Before you post

Common mistakes

  • Answering the inventory aspirationally so nothing needs developing.
  • Describing advocacy development as an intention rather than a step.
  • Treating colleagues' reluctance as apathy.
  • Answering the second half with encouragement rather than structure.
  • Omitting shared governance, which the prompt names explicitly.

Submission checklist

  • Is the inventory response honest and specific?
  • Is your next advocacy step concrete and checkable?
  • Are colleagues' actual reasons engaged?
  • Is shared governance named as the collective structure?
  • Are the claims cited?

Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read Brinevia's academic-integrity policy.

Written by

Maren Caldwell

MSN, RN, CNE

Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation

Maren is a registered nurse with over 15 years of clinical and educational experience in medical-surgical nursing. She writes on NCLEX preparation, patient care fundamentals, pharmacology and evidence-based practice.

Reviewed by

Dr. Tessa Redmond

DNP, RN, CNE

Evidence-based practice and clinical education

Tessa is a doctorally-prepared nurse educator. She reviews Brinevia content for clinical accuracy and alignment with current evidence-based guidelines.

Want feedback on your plan before you draft?

Get help interpreting the brief, checking your evidence strategy, and strengthening your outline while keeping the work your own.

Get assignment guidance
Start your order