ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal and state governments removed the scope of practice restrictions on nurse practitioners (NPs), allowing them to deliver care to patients without restrictions. PURPOSE: To support policy makers' efforts to grant full practice authority to NPs beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, this manuscript summarizes the existing evidence on the benefits of permanently removing state-level scope of practice barriers and outline recommendations for policy, practice, and research. METHODS: We have conducted a thorough review of the existing literature. FINDINGS: NP full scope of practice improves access and quality of care and leads to better patient outcomes. It also has the potential to reduce health care cost. DISCUSSION: The changes to support full practice authority enacted to address COVID-19 are temporary. NP full practice authority could be part of a longer-term plan to address healthcare inequities and deficiencies rather than merely a crisis measure.
Subject(s)
Nurse Practitioners/legislation & jurisprudence , Practice Patterns, Nurses'/trends , Primary Health Care , Scope of Practice/legislation & jurisprudence , State Government , COVID-19 , Federal Government , Health Services Accessibility , Humans , Scope of Practice/trendsSubject(s)
Analgesics, Opioid/adverse effects , Nurse's Role , Policy Making , Prescription Drug Misuse/prevention & control , Analgesics, Opioid/therapeutic use , Buprenorphine/therapeutic use , Drug Prescriptions , Humans , Opiate Substitution Treatment , Opioid-Related Disorders/drug therapy , Opioid-Related Disorders/epidemiology , Opioid-Related Disorders/nursing , Prescription Drug Misuse/legislation & jurisprudence , Public Health , Societies, Nursing , United StatesABSTRACT
The Institute of Medicine report and the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act present significant opportunities for the nursing profession. As the largest group of primary care providers, nurse practitioners are the critical element in the provision of comprehensive primary care, and a critical element to the success of the redesigned health care system. Nurse practitioners can bridge the gap between coverage and access and provide the patient-centered innovative approaches needed. There are, however, significant barriers that need to be addressed. This article presents a framework for creating innovative approaches to the redesign of nurse practitioner clinical education.
Subject(s)
Education, Nursing/organization & administration , Nurse Practitioners/education , Primary Care Nursing , Clinical Competence , Education, Nursing/trends , Health Care Reform , Humans , Nursing Education Research , Primary Health Care/organization & administration , United StatesABSTRACT
The changing landscape of health care in America requires that clinicians be skilled in responding to varying patient expectations and values; provide ongoing patient management; deliver and coordinate care across teams, settings, and time frames; and support patients' endeavors to change behavior and lifestyle--education that is in short supply in today's academic and clinical settings (Institute of Medicine, 2003). Nursing education needs to innovate at the micro and macro system levels for the 21st century. It cannot be business as usual. In order to truly transform care, practice and education will need to partner on curriculum development and the professional socialization of the new nurse.
