Survey: Nurses should have more influence

PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 20 (UPI) -- A strong majority says nurses should have more influence than they do now on health policy, planning and management, a U.S. survey indicates.

The survey of opinion leaders -- including insurance, corporate, health services, government and industry -- was conducted by Gallup on behalf of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

"Nurses are highly trusted sources of healthcare information, but as we look to reform our health system, our nation is not taking advantage of all that nurses have to offer," Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said in a statement.

"This survey shows that opinion leaders recognize that we are squandering opportunities to learn from nurses and implement their ideas."

Opinion leaders identified the top barriers to nurses' increased influence and leadership as not being perceived as important decision makers -- 69 percent -- or revenue generators -- 68 percent -- compared with doctors; nurses' focus on primary rather than preventive care at 62 percent and nursing not having a single voice in speaking on national issues -- 56 percent.

Ninety percent of opinion leaders say they would like to see nurses have more influence reducing medical errors and improving patient safety, 89 percent say improve quality of care and 86 percent say they should promote wellness and expanding preventive care.

The telephone survey of 1,504 national opinion leaders was conducted Aug. 18-Oct 30. The survey has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.