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Healthcare Reform From The Nurse Practitioner Perspective Essay

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Healthcare Reform
Healthcare reform has been debated throughout history, and continues to be a debate today. An initial healthcare plan was supported by Theodore Roosevelt in 1910. He campaigned on the promise of national healthcare, but he was defeated. Harry Truman proposed it thirty years later but the plan was vigorously opposed by American Medical Association (AMA) as socialized medicine (Palmer, 2010). As a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) who has been practicing for more than a year, an advanced nurse with a Master of Science in Administration for ten years, a military nurse leader for twenty years, and a home health and ICU nurse for more than twenty – five years, I agree that we need to rethink the direction of healthcare. Without …show more content…

According to American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), NPs rank as one of the fastest growing health-care professions with more than 135,000 NPs presently practicing in the United States, as opposed to increased from 125,000 NPs in 2008 (Martin, 2011). The Doctoral of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs positions NPs as leaders and advocates in policy development (National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF), 2005). The NONPF emphasizes entry-level competencies for DNP graduates are influencing health care policy and evaluating health care policy globally. In fact, exploring other nations’ health system problems and solutions may provide alternatives in managing local, state, and national healthcare needs. Many health system solutions start by getting involved with our local and state legislators. This area is one, which is an area I am exploring as I transition from FNP to a potential DNP student.
NPs play a critical part and fulfill an essential role in health care. According to AANP data, 9 percent of NPs specialize in pediatrics, while another 9 percent focus in women health. However, only 5 percent of NPs practice acute care while 10 percent of NPs provide care for the elderly, infants and psychiatric patients. Historically, Nurse Practitioners have provided primary care in rural areas when no other providers were available. In the 1960s, Loretta Ford,

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