Nursing Advocacy: The Opioid Epidemic

Research and select a health issue or nurse advocacy issue.  (For example, the opioid epidemic local, state, or national, barriers to advanced nursing practice ) Then choose between one of the following three options.
Option 1
This option involves contacting your federal or state legislative representative.  Based on your assessment of healthcare/nurse advocacy issue, decide on the questions you would like to ask your legislator.
Contact the office of your state or federal Congressional representative (your choice).  You can use email or phone to initiate this conversation.  If you live in or near your states capitol city, you can even go to the Capitol and make personal contact. If your legislature is in session, you may even have the opportunity to sit in on a session, especially if a healthcare bill is being discussed.
If possible, make an appointment to speak to the legislator directly.  Most of them are happy to talk with constituents if their schedule allows it.  If you cant arrange that, ask to speak with one of the staff members, who are also very helpful and knowledgeable. The purpose of your conversation will be to determine their position on healthcare issues in the country or your state.  Be sure to include the name of the person to whom you spoke, and whom they represent if you did not speak to the legislator directly.
The links below will assist you in contacting your Congressional representatives.
 This site has tips on communication from the American Medical Association

  Individual State legislature information and links. Need to allow pop-ups.

Your paper should be written in a scholarly format (e.g. title page and correct APA) and should include the following elements:

 1-2 pages outlining the advocacy/health initiative issue and introduce your geographic area.

Resources that were used in your research
The option you selected and your reason for selecting that option, then:

write 2-3 pages about your experience. Include at a minimum, the following elements in your paper:

What questions did you prepare to ask?
Describe any barriers you encountered in arranging this meeting.
Discuss the actual conversation and what you learned about your representatives position on the healthcare issues?
What did you learn from this experience? If you could meet with him/her again, are there additional questions that you wish you could have asked?

 
My area is Maryland. The subject is the opioid epidemic