Environment has long been a primary concern in nursing, beginning with Nightingale’s attention to the power of the environment to heal. Policy is a dimension of the practice environment with great potential to influence patients’ health. In this column, a practice vignette illustrates some of the barriers to nurses’ awareness of policy-as-environment. Characteristics of conceptualizations of environment, arising from nursing science, that have potential to surmount barriers and increase awareness are identified. Creative attention to conceptualizing policy-as-environment is urged as a way to encourage nurses to consider policy activity as a satisfying aspect of practice.
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