California Nurse Practice Act Case Study

There are four types of Advanced Practice Nurse roles, the nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, and certified nurse-midwife. The Family Nurse Practitioner is the advanced practice role that will be discussed. According to Hamric, Hanson, Tracy, and O 'Grady (2014) the primary care NP provides care for patients in diverse settings, including community-based settings such as private and public practices, acute, and long-term care settings across the life span (pg. 396). Family Nurse Practitioners have faced many challenges in the medical profession to be recognized as health care providers. Most of these challenges where from fellow nurses. According to Hamric, Hanson, Tracy, and O’Grady (2014) conflict and discord about the Nurse Practitioner role continued to characterize relationships between NPs and other nurses (pg. 18). Despite the resistance to NPs in nursing, physicians increasingly accepted NPs in individual health care practices (Hamric, Hanson, Tracy, and O’Grady, 2014, pg. 18). Physicians readily accepted the role of the Nurse Practitioner, working together to improve patient outcomes and safety.

Nursing is a profession that requires specialized training, knowledge, skills, and judgment to foster an independent decision making. Practicing nursing is a right granted by the state to safeguard those in need of care and efficient nursing practice is substantiated by the state Nurse Practice Act (NPA). The NPA is ratified by each state based on set guidelines and passed by the state legislature (Russell, 2012). The NPA serves as a corner stone in regulating the duties and responsibilities of the professional nurse. The NPA is founded on set guidelines, however, the states’ board of nursing (BON) has the authority to modify the laws and regulations to fit the desired practice expectations set forth (Russell, 2012). The state of Virginia (VA), where this writer currently practices, has laws and regulations that govern the nursing practice of the Registered Nurse (RN) and the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the similarities and differences between the role of the RN and the advanced practice nurse as well as to identify if the Virginia NPA identifies the role of an infection prevention nurse specialist.

Credentialing from advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) perspective is defined as “furnishing the documentation necessary to be authorized by a regulatory body or institution to engage in certain activities and use a certain title” (Hanson, 2014). Credentialing is also define from a local institutional process that consider specific documentations for APRN before they assume the practice role as APRN within their facility. In health care system, credentialing ensures individuals meet required standards of practice and is prepared to perform those duties implied by the credentials. National certification and education are considered as part of credentialing for APRN to acquire basic level of competence to practice. (Hanson, 2014)

The APRN Consensus Model was released in July of 2008 to define advanced practice registered nurse, identify the titles to be used by APRNs, and define specialty area of practice. The Consensus Model also describes population foci, suggests a process for recognition of new APRN roles, and recommends requirements for implementation (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2010). The APRN regulatory model helps uniform scope of practice of APRN across the United States, which benefit individual APRN, enhance patient outcomes, and improve the quality of care. Consensus Model consists of Licensure, Accreditation, Certification, and Education. The Education criteria in LACE Consensus Model relate to all APRN programs regardless of master’s or doctoral

The health care industry is experiencing a surge in the number of baby-boomers needing health care and increased demands on the physicians providing the care. This trend has made the role of Advanced practice providers more important (cite). It is imperative to understand the differences and similarities in the advanced practice provider roles as it pertains to healthcare. This paper will identify specialty nursing roles including advanced practice registered nurses (APRN). It will further compare and contrast the advanced practice nurse (APN) and physician assistant (PA) roles in practice.

In 2008, the coalition of members from the Alliance for Advanced Practice Credentialing and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) created the Consensus Model for Advanced Practicing Registered Nurses (APRN’s). This model creates a framework for APRN’s in licensing, accreditation, certification, and education in the United States (Alleman & Houle, 2013). The establishment of this Consensus Model has developed a bases for the ARNP’s comprehensive knowledge base, ability for clinical reasoning, cultural, and ethical competencies, establishing a model of practice for ARNPs in which to follow. These concepts will be further discussed in this paper.

These organizations developed the Consensus Model document in 2008 to unify practice, identify APRN clinical roles, identify the acceptable titles to for NPs, and define the requirements for general practice and licensure. Note to mention that laws and regulations statute on the APN scope of practice may vary by states, whereas some adhere to full scope of practice, other to reduced practice, or restricted practice. For instance, the state of Florida defines advanced registered nurse practitioner as a licensed person with ability to practice professional nursing and certified to in advanced or specialized nursing practice (Buppert, 2011). The four advanced clinical specialized roles include certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified nurse midwives, clinical nurse specialist, and nurse practitioners (Buppert, 2011). In terms of licensure, 46 states out of 50 require nurse practitioners to pass a certification exam. The Florida Board of Nursing requires certification by an appropriate specialty board and graduation from a program leading to a master’s degree (Buppert,

The Consensus Model identifies four APRN roles: nurse anesthetist, nurse midwife, clinical nurse specialist and nurse practitioner. APRNs share many competencies, but the focus of practice

Advance practice registered nurse who provides care to patient through their life span from premature birth to the elderly , their focus is physical examination diagnose and treatment (ect)

by a nurse equivalent is equivalent to care provided by a physician.. In addition, the

Since the inception of the Nurse Practitioner (NP) role in the 1960s, NPs have thrived in the delivery of primary healthcare and nurse case management. Despite patient satisfaction with NPs ' style of care, nurses have been critical of NPs, while physicians have been threatened by NP encroachment on MD practice. Balancing assessment, diagnosis, and treatment with caring defines NPs ' success as primary care providers. Understand the role and Scope of Practice of NPs is sometimes difficult for some to understand. The purpose of this paper is to define the role and history of NP, compare and contrast licensure versus certifications, understand NP Scope Of Practice and Standards of Care, discuss how the State Practice Acts regulate FNP practice, discuss credentialing and privileging, and differentiate between legislative and regulatory processes.

The Nursing Practice Act (NPA) is the body of California law that mandates the Board to set out the scope of practice and responsibilities for RNs. The Practice Act is located in the California Business and Professions Code starting with Section 2700. Regulations that specify the implementation of the law appear in the California Code of Regulations ("Board Of Nursing", n.d.). What is the NPA? How does it affect nurses? What are the requirements for getting a nursing license from the Board of Nursing? All of these are important questions for someone to ponder when considering joining the nursing

The historic article by Safriet (1992) fully lists and analyzes the major challenges facing the advanced practice nurse (APN). At the time the article was written compared to now, a few aspects are changing. In areas where change has occurred, it has been an exceedingly slow process. Change for APNs is often dependent on legislation and regulatory authorities which receives half-hearted support, at best, from the medical establishment (Safriet, 1992). Since the first day nurses were given any authority to practice outside of regular practice, physicians only objected when it began to encroach upon their perceived hierarchal status or potential for compensation (Hamric, Hanson, Tracy, & O’Grady, 2014). The concern that this

For current and future needs we need to enable all healthcare professionals especially nurses to practice to the full level of their education and training. Advanced practice nurses can fulfill the primary care needs. This will free up physicians to address more complex cases which needs their expertise. Current practice focus on specialty and acute care only and a shift in practice to deliver more primary care and community care services is essential to improve the quality of nursing care and address the growing need of care in these areas.

The role that nurse practitioner (NP) plays within the increasing complex health care system is a constant changing role with the Consensus Model and the introduction of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The scope of the nurse practitioner (NP) includes the care of the young, the old, the sick and the well. The educational needs of a nurse practitioner vary greatly from that of a Registered Nurse (RN), in the amount of education as well as the focus of the education. NPs provide coordinated primary care with the use of comprehensive health histories and physical examinations, diagnosing and treating acute and chronic illnesses, the management of medications and therapies, ordering and interpreting tests results, and educating and