Texas is home to nearly 10,000 nurse practitioners. Nurse practitioners (NPs) in Texas do not have as many freedoms as NP 's in many other states. In fact, Texas falls at the lower end of the spectrum regarding the freedoms it offers nurse practitioners. House Bill 1885 would grant full practice authority in Texas to all advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), including nurse practitioners (NPs). It would authorize APRNs to evaluate and diagnose patients; order and interpret diagnostic tests; and initiate and manage treatments; prescribing of medications, these are currently job descriptions of APRNs and NPs that they are already doing, however, it would move these items under the exclusive licensure authority of the Texas Board of Nursing.
Hi Freylen, as you discussed the Consensus Model allow APRNs to practice to the full scope of their education, able to move to different states, providing quality care. My new role as a primary care NP I agree with the continuity of care and follow patients into acute or long-term care facility to help them through their ongoing health issues and managing their chronic diseases(Stanley,2012).
Conclusion In conclusion, APNs are equipped to deliver the same safe, efficient, and high- quality care as physicians. The clinical and professional background of nurses gives them an extraordinary opportunity to change the healthcare landscape and promote cost-effective, compassionate, and patient-centered care for people. In a study performed by Dill, Pankow, Erikson, & Shipman (2013), the patient preferred the APN to physicians due to greater accessibility, more personalized and compassionate care, increased comfort with communication, and past positive
Scope of Practice NP’s scope of practice can vary depending on which state they are licensed in. It is extremely important that the NP is aware of the laws and regulations that their state has implemented. Understanding the scope of practice allows you to understand what you can and cannot do as an NP. In Arizona, NP’s are board certified and are now required to take a national certifying exam (Buppert, 2015). NP’s in Arizona have an expanded scope of practice, they can assess, manage, diagnose, and prescribe medications to patients.
From the research, it is believed by the author, that since the licensing is done at the state level, this is where changes in America should be implemented. APNs need lobbyists to advocate for the changes needed. It appears that in the states where there APNs have restricted practices, it is due to lobbying by the state’s medical board. The legislators should be presented with the facts, APNs provide safe and cost effective care to the patients. Citizens should get involved and write letters to make the legislators aware of the problem.
I think there are many ways an ANP can influence health policy such as by providing high quality of care, lowering cost of care, increasing healthcare access and excellent nurse-patient relationship. Healthcare advocacy is very complex and requires access to the resources of power, wealth, will, time, energy, along with other necessary social and political skills and resources. As (Gould, Fleming, & Parker, 2012) state “advocacy is a fundamental instrument of health promotion practice and suggests strategies to apply these principles in
As we have been noted the role and the scope of practice of the nurse practitioners in the healthcare system are unmeasurable. The nurse practitioners (NPs) play a tremendous role in providing healthcare to the people in the United States. Their presence has been recognized in developing the health care industry not only in the US but also globally. Despite the role that the NPs have played into the healthcare system, they still encounter some challenges that can impact their practice. One of these challenges is the NP autonomy of practice.
These studies illustrates that NPs can play a key role in providing services to health care market. NPs provide a full range of high quality care to patients of all ages. These services include primary care, acute care, special health care services such as oncology, gerontology health, or women’s health to name a few (American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), 2015). NPs practice in many health settings, including private physician office, hospital, urgent care site, emergency room, community health center, school, and others. Family Nurse Practitioners (FNPs) are NPs are primary care providers who focus on
Outcomes demonstrated that patient access to care improved and there was high quality of care provided. Edmunds, M. (1978). Evaluation of nurse practitioner effectiveness: An overview of the literature. Evaluation and the Health Professions. 1, 69-82 (E, A, I P/A) This article provides an overview of published literature that focuses on the effectiveness of the NP.
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP): It was formed in 2013 by the fusion of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (founded in1985) and the American College of Nurse Practitioners (founded in 1995). The purpose of this association is to advocate for the issues and performance of the nurse practitioners. AANP’s mission is to lead nurse practitioners in turning the health care system into patient-centered care. According to the AANP website, this organization has more than 60,000 individual members, and 200
With the ongoing healthcare demands and shortages, the appropriate role and responsibilities of the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) will continue to be a controversial debate. There were many points addressed in your post that I agree and don’t agree with. It is most certainly not arguable that physicians do endure a longer, more intense education. I personally believe their role as a hospitalist is valuable and should never be discredited for their knowledge and expertise. However, I also believe that they are doing their patients a disservice if they are being overworked due to provider shortages.
The DNP student stated that she has not implemented her project yet and it could not be discussed at the moment. The DNP student did discuss on how everyone, whether a nurse or not, can advocate for the community. The DNP discussed on the pros on advancing one’s education. DNP essential eight: Advanced Nursing Practice is not just entitiled to practice in hospitals. These individuals practice in hospitals, clinics, home health, and in the
They assess, diagnose and treat acute and chronic illnesses as well as preventative healthcare for individuals and families. As their care is family-centered, they must also be able to understand the relevance of the family’s identified community. In addition to the nine essentials as outlined by the AACN, the FNP must meet competencies in advanced health assessment skills in order to differentiate between normal and abnormal findings. They should able to use screening and diagnostic strategies to develop diagnosis and they must be able to prescribe medications to enable them to work as independent practitioners (Competencies for Nurse Practitioners, 2012). In order to meet these competencies, the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation (2008) requires three separate graduate-level courses in advanced physiology and pathophysiology, health assessment and pharmacology as well as appropriate clinical experiences across the age
APRN’s have more access to EHR. For example, they have access to pictures of MRI, Echo and x-rays. Business/Finance Family Nurse Practitioners play a significant role in delivering cost effective health care to the community by emphasizing more on healthy life styles, preventive health care and provide better primary care compared to physicians by listening to the patients and spending more time with
Nurses are critical for promoting health in the society. The profession is highly flexible, since they specialize in diverse operations in the medical field. Registered nurses, for instance, are responsible for the administration of medicine and inoculations to patients (American Nurses ' Association, 2000). Additionally, these professionals observe, record, and enlighten doctors of any changes in a patient’s health. Nurses interpret and evaluate diagnostic examinations to determine an individual’s condition, as well as making the necessary adjustments in patient treatment plans on their health progress.
