Nurse Practitioners Practicing Without Physician Oversight

 

Should Nurse Practitioners be able to treat patients without Physician oversight?
In over one-third of the states, this question has already been answered. In those states, Nurse Practitioners have Full Practice Authority. Nurse practitioners with Full Practice Authority provide patients with direct access to the full services in which they are equipped to provide.  The “full service” or scope of practice of nurse practitioners is different from that of doctors.  Nurse Practitioners are not competing with physicians; they are providers that work in similar roles and many times on the same team. 
American Association of Nurse Practitioners Full Practice Authority Definition 

According to a research article, called “Recommendations for Matching Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Education and Certification to the Pediatric Acute Care Population”, the scope of practice for nurse practitioners has been carefully defined.

A study by ANA, showed that  Nurse Practitioners were more likely to practice in rural areas in states with greater practice autonomy (states with Full Practice Authority), with borderline statistical significance. In addition, male NPs were more likely than females to work in rural locations. These findings imply that practice autonomy should be considered as a state-level strategy to encourage rural practice by Nurse Practitioners.  This study found 152,185 APRNs with National Provider Identifiers-NPIs in the United States, of which 106,113 were Nurse Practitioners. Overall, there were 3.6 urban and 2.8 rural Nurse Practitioners per 10,000 people.
This report of rural health providers was funded by the American Nurses Association. 

According to Dr. Howard Rabinowitz, a professor of family and community medicine at Thomas Jefferson University's Medical College,  “The shortage of rural physicians is a "huge problem."   "About 20% of the population lives in rural areas but only 9% of physicians practice there," said Rabinowitz who has studied the issue for more than 30 years.

With this information, there is one clear conclusion, Nurse Practitioners, who in all research findings practice safely, deliver high quality of care, and receive high patient satisfaction scores, should be able to practice with full practice authority to help provide access for patients to healthcare. 

To inquire about advanced practice nursing jobs visit Melnic Consulting Group or contact: Jill Gilliland 800-886-7906 jill@melnic.com

AANP's Angela Golden Responds to New York Times

The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) launched a national campaign to raise public awareness of the critical role nurse practitioners play in our country’s healthcare system.  With their continued effort and commitment to educate the public on the high-quality, patient-centered healthcare option that nurse practitioners provide, AANP President, Angela K. Golden, responded to a New York Times article titled "Doctor Shortage Likely to Worsen with Health Law" with a letter to the editor.

On August 2nd, The New York Times published Golden’s letter which includes the following responses:

• Nurse practitioners can play a critical role in addressing the country’s growing physician shortage.
• With advanced degrees, they are skilled diagnosticians and clinicians who treat acute and chronic illness and prescribe medications.
• Four decades of research show that nurse practitioners provide high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered primary health care with excellent outcomes.
• In a growing number of states, a nurse practitioner can own and operate an autonomous, independent practice, not requiring any physician involvement. But in too many states, antiquated laws prevent us from practicing to the full extent of our advanced education and clinical training.
• Elected officials in affected states should work to remove these unnecessary barriers. Doing so will instantly increase access to quality health care, improve outcomes and make health care more affordable for all Americans.

With President Obama’s new healthcare law, expansion of health insurance is expected to increase to 32 million Americans over the next 10 years.

The topic of a physician shortage has become a significant area of discussion and concern.  Jill Gilliland, President of Melnic Consulting Group says, “Pediatric Nurse Practitioners are an effective alternative to physicians as independent practitioners. Their high competency level allows them to be collaborative team members, and they play a key role in providing a solution to busy practice environments.”

The AANP aims to raise public awareness through the web, print, television, radio and community involvement.  Learn how you can get involved!

To inquire about these jobs visit Melnic Consulting Group or contact: Jill Gilliland 800-886-7906 jill@melnic.com

AANP Launches Public Awareness Campaign

The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) has launched a national campaign to raise public awareness of the critical role nurse practitioners play in our country’s healthcare system.  With President Obama’s new healthcare law, expansion of health insurance is expected to increase to 32 million Americans over the next 10 years.  The campaign led by the AANP strives to assure Americans and insurance providers that Nurse Practitioners are fully qualified and prepared to provide high-quality, cost effective, medical care to Americans.

The topic of a physician shortage has become a significant area of discussion and concern.  Jill Gilliland, President of Melnic Consulting Group says, “Pediatric Nurse Practitioners are an effective alternative to physicians as independent practitioners. Their high competency level allows them to be collaborative team members, and they play a key role in providing a solution to busy practice environments.”

The AANP aims to raise public awareness through the web, print, television, radio and community involvement.  Learn how you can get involved!

To inquire about Pediatric Nurse Practitioner jobs visit Melnic Consulting Group or contact: Jill Gilliland 800-886-7906 jill@melnic.com