Advocating for Alabama Nurse Practitioners
Just as the other states across America, the State of Alabama has a document in place that governs the practice of Advance Practice Nurses (APNs), which is known as the Advance Practice Nursing- Collaborative Practice agreement. After reviewing this document, which regulates nurse practitioner (NP) practice, it seems that there are several issues that need to be addressed in order to give NPs the advocacy and practice authority that they deserve. An example of this is the following, “If the certified registered nurse practitioner is to perform duties at a site away from the collaborating physician, the written protocol shall clearly specify the circumstances and provide written verification of physician availability for consultation, referral, or direct medical intervention in emergencies and after hours, if indicated,” (Alabama Board of Nursing, 2003). In all actuality, nurse practitioners should have the authority to carry out any medical intervention that he or she has received proper training and education on, whether the collaborating physician is in the facility or not.
Nurse practitioners feel very strongly about their rights and privileges in practice because of the time, finances and hard work that has been invested in his or her career. These professionals feel that they need to be allowed to practice to their full abilities and not be forced to work as the equivalent of a scribe (Stempniak, 2013). To achieve this, there needs to be a standard that advance practice nurses should be held to not only in the state of Alabama, but across the nation. Sadly, though these standards typically do exist, they are dependent on the hospital where the NP is employed. This means that depending on the specific facility, the NP may have different privileges from an NP at a hospital five miles across town. This could possibly be resolved if universities collaborated with hospitals and healthcare facilities in order to develop some sort of standard (Stempniak, 2013).
It is of utmost importance that NPs are allowed to practice to their full capability, especially with changes related to the recently mandated healthcare reform. Statistics show that by 2020 there will be a shortage of nearly 40,000 family doctors, meaning that NPs will be providing the vast majority of primary care to the individuals of the United States (Tobler, 2010). The reason behind this a numerous, but one of the reoccurring issues is that several of the physicians who are currently in practice are no longer able to accept new patients. In this situation, it would be very beneficial to the physician to add a nurse practitioner to the practice in order to accommodate for the care of these new patients and to allow growth within the practice.
Though there has been great advancement and forward movement in the world of nurse practitioners, there is still much more to be achieved. The Nurse Practitioner Alliance of Alabama has been developed to help move these issues to Congress and the Legislature. The purpose of this alliance is to advocate for patients, nurse practitioners, and to use the quality of healthcare to make policy related decisions (Lioce, 2010). In the past this organization has advocated for the rights of nurse practitioners across the board and is a great asset to nurse practitioners in Alabama. As the number of advance practice nurses continues to rise across Alabama, one can hope that privileges will be expanded and nurses will be allowed to work to their full educational capacity. It is the responsibility nurse practitioners current and future to work toward achieving these goals.
References
Alabama Board of Nursing. (2003). Advanced practice nursing collaborative practice. Retrieved from ABN website: https://www.abn.alabama.gov/UltimateEditorInclude/UserFiles/docs/admin-code/Chapter%20610-X-5.pdf
Lioce, L. (2010). Nurse Practitioner Alliance of Alabama 2010. Alabama Nurse, 37(1), 6.
Stempniak, M. (2013). Closing the primary care gap. Hospitals & Health Networks / AHA, 87(3), 45.
Tobler, L. (2010). A primary problem: more patients under federal health reform with fewer primary care doctors spell trouble. State Legislatures, 36(10), 20-24.
Just as the other states across America, the State of Alabama has a document in place that governs the practice of Advance Practice Nurses (APNs), which is known as the Advance Practice Nursing- Collaborative Practice agreement. After reviewing this document, which regulates nurse practitioner (NP) practice, it seems that there are several issues that need to be addressed in order to give NPs the advocacy and practice authority that they deserve. An example of this is the following, “If the certified registered nurse practitioner is to perform duties at a site away from the collaborating physician, the written protocol shall clearly specify the circumstances and provide written verification of physician availability for consultation, referral, or direct medical intervention in emergencies and after hours, if indicated,” (Alabama Board of Nursing, 2003). In all actuality, nurse practitioners should have the authority to carry out any medical intervention that he or she has received proper training and education on, whether the collaborating physician is in the facility or not.
Nurse practitioners feel very strongly about their rights and privileges in practice because of the time, finances and hard work that has been invested in his or her career. These professionals feel that they need to be allowed to practice to their full abilities and not be forced to work as the equivalent of a scribe (Stempniak, 2013). To achieve this, there needs to be a standard that advance practice nurses should be held to not only in the state of Alabama, but across the nation. Sadly, though these standards typically do exist, they are dependent on the hospital where the NP is employed. This means that depending on the specific facility, the NP may have different privileges from an NP at a hospital five miles across town. This could possibly be resolved if universities collaborated with hospitals and healthcare facilities in order to develop some sort of standard (Stempniak, 2013).
It is of utmost importance that NPs are allowed to practice to their full capability, especially with changes related to the recently mandated healthcare reform. Statistics show that by 2020 there will be a shortage of nearly 40,000 family doctors, meaning that NPs will be providing the vast majority of primary care to the individuals of the United States (Tobler, 2010). The reason behind this a numerous, but one of the reoccurring issues is that several of the physicians who are currently in practice are no longer able to accept new patients. In this situation, it would be very beneficial to the physician to add a nurse practitioner to the practice in order to accommodate for the care of these new patients and to allow growth within the practice.
Though there has been great advancement and forward movement in the world of nurse practitioners, there is still much more to be achieved. The Nurse Practitioner Alliance of Alabama has been developed to help move these issues to Congress and the Legislature. The purpose of this alliance is to advocate for patients, nurse practitioners, and to use the quality of healthcare to make policy related decisions (Lioce, 2010). In the past this organization has advocated for the rights of nurse practitioners across the board and is a great asset to nurse practitioners in Alabama. As the number of advance practice nurses continues to rise across Alabama, one can hope that privileges will be expanded and nurses will be allowed to work to their full educational capacity. It is the responsibility nurse practitioners current and future to work toward achieving these goals.
References
Alabama Board of Nursing. (2003). Advanced practice nursing collaborative practice. Retrieved from ABN website: https://www.abn.alabama.gov/UltimateEditorInclude/UserFiles/docs/admin-code/Chapter%20610-X-5.pdf
Lioce, L. (2010). Nurse Practitioner Alliance of Alabama 2010. Alabama Nurse, 37(1), 6.
Stempniak, M. (2013). Closing the primary care gap. Hospitals & Health Networks / AHA, 87(3), 45.
Tobler, L. (2010). A primary problem: more patients under federal health reform with fewer primary care doctors spell trouble. State Legislatures, 36(10), 20-24.