Modernizing State Nurse Practice Acts: Response

Please read the discussion board post and complete a full 1-page response. Also, please elaborate on the discussion and follow the grading rubric. I do not need a title page. I have attached the discussion board post and grading rubric as a file.

The Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) is responsible to patients, the nursing profession, and the licensing board to comply with the requirements of the state nurse practice act and the quality of advanced nursing care provided (Report of the APRN Joint Dialogue Group Based on the Work of the APRN Consensus Group and the NCSBN APRN Committee, 2008).

Mississippi does not grant APRNs full practice authority as recommended by the Consensus Model. The Consensus Model identifies the legal scope of practice for APRNs. Full practice authority continues to be refused for APRNs in most states in the U. S. Only three states (Idaho, North Dakota, and Wyoming) have enacted the APRN Compact to date (National Council of State Boards of Nursing [NCSBN], 2020. The position of the Consensus Model is to allow APRNs practice guidelines to be consistent across the board from state to state.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump and many governors enacted swift, unprecedented regulatory changes through executive orders. Curtailing over-regulation caused more to be accomplished in the past months than the last ten years. The orders are time-sensitive, and physician collaboration will resume after the executive orders expire. Although the temporary orders have been very effective, there is still much to be accomplished.

Mississippi scored 14 points on the scoring grid for the Consensus Model and recognized three roles of APRNs that require certification; Certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified nurse-midwives, and certified nurse practitioners: These APRNs must be certified and have a collaborating physician to practice and prescribe. Grassroots efforts from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and the Mississippi Association of Nurse Practitioners (MANP) have been instrumental in the fight for passage of House Bill 613 in Mississippi, granting APRNs full practice authority. More nurses are needed to take the first steps by joining their state and local organizations, getting to know their legislators, and gaining confidence in legislative advocacy, including running for public office. Full practice authority is desperately needed to provide greater access to healthcare for the improvement of healthcare outcomes.

References:

AANP (2021). State policy priorities. Retrieved from http://aanp.org/www/documents/advocacy/2021-State-Policy-Priorities (Links to an external site.)

Bachtel, M. K., Hayes, R., & Nelson, M. A. (2020). The push to modernize nursing regulations during the pandemic. Nursing outlook, 68(5), 545–547. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2020.05.006 (Links to an external site.).

National Council of State Boards of Nursing. 2020. Policy briefing: HHS sends letter, guidance to states encouraging state licensing waivers, relaxation of scope of practice requirements. Https://www.ncsbn.org/14566.htm.

Discussion Board Responses Rubric
Criteria Ratings Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Number of Responses

Students are expected to respond to at least 2 of their peers.

30 pts

Exemplary

28-30 points. The responses exceed the requirement for the activity.

27 pts

Satisfactory

23-27 points. The responses fulfill the minimum required number for the discussion activity.

0 pts

Unsatisfactory

0-22 points. The responses do not meet the number required for the activity.

30 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Substance of Responses
45 pts

Exemplary

42-45 points. The responses offer either an extension on the original posting or a clearly alternate point of view that fosters further thinking, reflection, or response on the discussion topic.

41 pts

Satisfactory

34-41 points. The responses generally offer some insight by either extending the point of the original or offering an alternate point of view, but they may not encourage further thought or reflection on the discussion topic as much as they possibly could.

0 pts

Unsatisfactory

0-33 points. The responses do not offer any new or very limited insight by either extending the position of the original post or providing an alternate point of view.

45 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Grammar, Punctuation & APA
25 pts

Exemplary

23-25 points. The postings have less than 3 errors in grammar, punctuation, and/or APA.

22 pts

Satisfactory

19-22 points. The postings have 3-5 errors in grammar, punctuation, and/or APA.

0 pts

Unsatisfactory

0-18 points. The postings have more than 5 errors in grammar, punctuation, and/or APA.

25 pts
Total Points: 100

Modernizing State Nurse Practice Acts: Response

Mississippi is among those states that are still lagging behind in the implementation of the Consensus Model. The state only recognizes three roles of APRNs including certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA), certified nurse-midwives (CNM), and certified nurse practitioners (CNP) (NCSBN, 2021). Additionally, the state of Mississippi has not granted its APRNs full practice and independent prescribing authorities (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2021). These restrictions are limiting healthcare access for the citizens of the state. This is one area where we as nurses can apply our advocacy stills to convince our states to enact laws that will grant APRNs full practice authority. Granting APRNs full practice authority will increase healthcare access for Mississippi residents.

Nurses should work closely with grassroots organizations to influence policy change in their states. As you have indicated in your post, the Mississippi Association of Nurse Practitioners (MANP) has been at the forefront in fighting for the the passage of bills that aim to increase greater access to healthcare for the improvement of healthcare outcomes for Mississippi residents (MSBN, 2021). Numerous advantages are associated with granting nurse practitioners full practice authority. For example, as Poghosyan et al. (2021) point out, nurse practitioners form an important component of the healthcare workforce at this time when nations are faced with the challenge of treating COVID-19 patients. When allowed to practice independently, nurse practitioners will contribute to addressing health inequalities and crises exposed by the COVID-29 pandemic. However, granting nurse practitioners practice autonomy should not only be a short-term objective but a long-term plan that will resolve the problem of physician shortage experience across states. Nurse practitioners can contribute to the implementation of the Consensus Model by participating in the creation of policies aimed at eliminating existing practice barriers for APRNs.

 

 

References

MSBN. (2021, October). Nurse Practice Act. https://www.msbn.ms.gov

National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (NCSBN). (2021). APRN consensus implementation status. https://www.ncsbn.org/5397.htm

Poghosyan, L., Pulcini, J., Chan, G. K., Dunphy, L., Martsolf, G. R., Greco, K., Todd, B. A., Brown, S. C., Fitzgerald, M., McMenamin, A. L., & Solari-Twadell, P. A. (2021). State responses to COVID-19: Potential benefits of continuing full practice authority for primary care nurse practitioners. Nursing Outlook, Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2021.07.012

 

 

 

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