Texas Nurse Practice Act Research Paper

Texas is home to nearly 10,000 nurse practitioners. Nurse practitioners (NPs) in Texas do not have as many freedoms as NP 's in many other states. In fact, Texas falls at the lower end of the spectrum regarding the freedoms it offers nurse practitioners. House Bill 1885 would grant full practice authority in Texas to all advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), including nurse practitioners (NPs). It would authorize APRNs to evaluate and diagnose patients; order and interpret diagnostic tests; and initiate and manage treatments; prescribing of medications, these are currently job descriptions of APRNs and NPs that they are already doing, however, it would move these items under the exclusive licensure authority of the Texas Board of Nursing.

Kentucky Board of Nursing mission statement: The Kentucky Board of Nursing protects the well-being of the public by development and enforcement of state law governing the safe practice of nursing, nursing education and credentialing. Law & Regulations: An APRN (licensed by the Board and certified by a national organization in an advanced practice role and population foci) must first determine whether the statutes (the Nurse Practice Act) prohibit the action in question. For example, an APRN designated as a Family Nurse Practitioner may not write a prescription for a Schedule II drug for 30 days. This action would be outside the APRN, designated FNP’s scope of practice. (KRS 314.011(8) (a)

One similarity between NPs, other APNs and PAs is that, they all play a very important role in health care and patient centered approach of care is their objective. Also, their practice is based upon their education, training and certification in collaboration and under supervision of physicians. Another similarity is that, their scope of practice face limitations and restrictions in practicing be it state base or nationally. State laws and regulations act as barriers towards the broadening of PAs professional competencies same as NPs face licensure and practice laws that prevent full extent of their education practice. NP practice requires supervision, delegation, or team-management by an outside health discipline in order to provide

Scope of Practice NP’s scope of practice can vary depending on which state they are licensed in. It is extremely important that the NP is aware of the laws and regulations that their state has implemented. Understanding the scope of practice allows you to understand what you can and cannot do as an NP. In Arizona, NP’s are board certified and are now required to take a national certifying exam (Buppert, 2015). NP’s in Arizona have an expanded scope of practice, they can assess, manage, diagnose, and prescribe medications to patients.

The last past eight weeks have provided an opportunity to achieve several program outcomes that will prepare me as my role of nurse practitioner. This course NR 602 has provided me with an opportunity to meet the MSN program outcome #6, the MSN Essential VII, and the Nurse Practitioner Core Competencies # 8. These program outcomes will institute a base upon which care can be delivered with quality. Program outcome # 6 examined ways to apply legal, ethical and human caring principles to situations in advanced practice nursing. There were several case studies that afforded a chance to implement this outcome.

Nurse practitioners play an important role in healthcare in every state. However, each state has specific regulations pertaining to state regulations that guide prescriptive practice related to educational requirements, advance practice licensure requirements, and prescriptive authority (specifically controlled substances) of nurse practitioners. This paper will analyze the governing regulations of nurse practitioners in three states with full practice authority, reduced practice authority, and restricted practice authority. It will compare and contrast Washington D.C., New York, and Georgia, which have similar educational and licensure requirements, but vastly different approaches to the scope of practice in their respective states.

Office of Diversion Control: Questions & Answers. Retrieved from: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugreg/faq.htm#1 Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (2015). Information & Application pertaining to prescriptive authority for advanced practice nurses. Retrieved from: http://www.in.gov/pla/2503.htm Indiana State Board of Nursing (2011). Compilation of the Indiana Code and Indiana Administrative Code (Article 4).

The Nurse Practice Act is a specific set of rules and regulations. The purpose is to oversee the safe practice of nursing and safety of the public. NPA lists the standards and scope of nursing practice, along with requirements for licensure, the types of titles and licenses and educational standards. The Nurse Practice Act is a nurse’s guide to safe practice (Russell, K. 2012).

There are a few different ways a nurse is able to keep current on policies that impact their practice. First, continuing nursing education (CNE) is one of the primary ways to keep current. “CNE is defined as programs beyond the basic nursing preparation that are designed to promote and enrich knowledge, improve skills, and develop attitudes for the enhancement of nursing practice, thus improving health care to the public [Board Rule 216.1(12)]” (Texas Board of Nursing, 2013). Continuing nursing education is a requirement for license renewal but is also an excellent resource for finding out new evidence based practice policies. The next way to be up to date on policies would be going for certification in a nurse’s specific specialty.

I agree with you Walter. Nursing is a teamwork. In an acute hospital setting, an RN is assigned a set of patient to deliver care that means RN has full responsibility about these patients. In this case, RN who is the primary care nurse can complete her task by herself or delegate some of the task to the nursing assistant according to their scope of practice. The abilities to delegate, and supervise other healthcare workers is not an easy job.

Each state regulates APRNs legal scope of practice and the certification examinations for entry level competence assessment. For example, who can perform micro-dermabrasion and is it under the scope of practice? This lack of standardized criteria has generated a remarkable barrier for advanced nurses to move from state to state and has reduced access to patient care. It is crucial to align the education, accreditation, certification and licensure of APRNs to meet the increasing demand of advanced nurses for the current and future needs of patients and safety of the healthcare system. For this reason, the APRN Consensus Work Group and the National Council of State Board of Nursing’s (2011)

Public Health In community health setting, Advanced Practice Nurses serve as clinicians, nurse educators or administrators. They provide services in schools, day care centers, community health clinics, group homes as well as in skilled nursing facilities. They are involved in the health of new mothers and babies through pre-and post-natal care, preventing domestic violence and child abuse through education and awareness

In collaboration with other medical personnel, nurses engage in the development and enactment of patient care plans. Furthermore, they provide education to families and groups on various health issues such as disease prevention, among others. Scope of Practice The nursing scope of practice gives a precise definition of the strict duties of a registered nurse practitioner. It is obligatory for these professionals not to engage in medical activities that go beyond their scope of practice.

One concern of the adoption of the ACO is that nurses may spend increased time documenting outcomes and data to meet incentives and less time providing direct patient care (McMenamin, n.d.). Also, nurses are not directly referenced in legislation for ACOs and are considered “other healthcare professionals,” leaving the verbiage of the nurse role up for interpretation (American Nurses Association, 2010). In addition, certified nurse midwives and certified registered nurse anesthetists are “not considered in the final rule” but nurse practitioners are defined (American Nurses Association, 2010). Further clarification will be required for advanced nurses to practice

Great discussion Jo! I appreciate that you mentioned the first step is for the nurse practitioner to follow the code of ethics. In nursing, we are faced with many difficult situations we are expected to handle. The principles that make up the code of ethics are basic moral truths meant to guide us to make the right choices for our patients (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2014).