ARNP Scope of Practice - Iowa Supreme Court Makes Landmark Decision

Iowa Nursing practice recently achieved a “big win” as the Iowa Supreme Court issued a landmark decision ruling that the Iowa Board of Nursing maintains authority to define the scope of Nursing Practice in Iowa, not medical organizations.  The American Nurses Association issued a news release explaining that the appeal by three nursing organizations was prompted by an Iowa District Court judge’s ruling that supervision of fluoroscopy was not “recognized by the medical…profession as proper to be performed by the registered nurse,” as required by Iowa Nursing Law.  The ANA news release quoted ANA President, Karen A. Daley, PhD, RN, RAAN, “In today’s high-demand health care environment, we need nurses and all other health care professionals working to the top level of their capabilities and licenses  The court’s decision will help Iowans get the health care services they need in a timely, efficient, and effective way."      


In an article written by Lynn Boes - INA Legal Counsel, posted on the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action website, Boes’ included the following noted by the Iowa Supreme Court: “if the District Court’s ruling were to be upheld, it would fundamentally alter the nursing profession, as well as healthcare within Iowa, by allowing physician associations to have absolute veto power over any proposed new nursing rule, regardless of the actual opinions of Iowa physicians and of the actions of Iowa physicians in their privileging of nurses to perform various practices.”

Boes wrote, “this is a win for Iowa patients and Iowa healthcare in general and Iowa nursing practice specifically!” 

Melnic Consulting Group supports the Campaign for Action, and is a strong advocate for Advanced Practice Nurses and the nursing community. 

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

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

Pediatric Nurse Practitioners Scope of Practice Increase

Pediatric Nurse Practitioners Scope of Practice Increase


According to Kaiser Health News,"A report released Tuesday may give nurses with advanced degrees a potent weapon in their perennial battle to get the authority to practice without a doctor's oversight.

The report, released by the Institute of Medicine and sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says nurses should take on a larger and more independent role in providing health care in America, something many doctors have repeatedly opposed, citing potential safety concerns. It calls for states and the federal government to remove barriers that restrict what care advanced practice nurses - those with a master's degree - provide.

The report calls for elimination of "regulatory and institutional obstacles" including limits on nurses "scope of practice" - which are state rules about what care people who are not physicians can provide." more ...



To inquire about PNP jobs visit Melnic Consulting Group or contact:Jill Gilliland800-886-7906jill@melnic.com