respone

Professional Nursing and State-Level Regulations

Every State in the United States has many regulations, not just being a nurse or a doctor, especially APRN regulations set forth by the Board of Nursing (BON) vary from state to state: each BON enforces a Nurse Practice Act delineating licensure qualifications, the nursing scope of practice, and repercussions for failure to comply with regulations within that state (National Council of State Boards of Nursing [NCSBN], 2019). For this week's discussion, I have chosen to review and compare regulations for my current practice, the State of New Jersey, and the State of Florida. While the rules have several similarities, I've selected two contrasting statutes to compare.

The first contrasting regulation pertains to continuing education requirements. Both states are similar regarding the standard registered professional nurse licensure requirements. However, the state of New Jersey goes on to specifically require the inclusion of continued education credits about end-of-life care (New Jersey Board of Nursing [NJBON], 2018). At the same time, the state of Florida requires the inclusion of credits for controlled substance prescribing, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, and human trafficking (The Florida Legislature, 2019a).

The second contrasting regulation pertains to prescriptive practice. As anticipated, Schedule II controlled substance prescriptions are limited in both states. New Jersey limits an initial medication for acute pain to a five-day supply. However, that five-day period may be followed by a subsequent 30-day supply prescription if deemed necessary and documented as such (NJBON, 2018). The state of Florida seems to be a little less lenient as practitioners are limited to a three-day supply for acute pain prescriptions unless there is an "acute pain exception" (to be documented on the actual prescription) extending to a maximum of only seven days; deviation from standard limitation must be justified in the patient's medical record (The Florida Legislature, 2019). State regulations apply to APRNs authorized to practice in their state of licensure. Failure to comply with regulations set forth by the BON will negatively impact licensure, prohibiting nursing practice. Therefore, APRNs must familiarize themselves with their practicing state's rules to ensure the continued authority to provide patient care without interruption. Additionally, they may prescribe and dispense drugs and controlled substances independently based on their specialization.

References

National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). (2019). About U.S Boards of Nursing. Retrieved December 23, 2019, from https://www.ncsbn.org/about-boards-of-nursing.htm

New Jersey Board of Nursing (NJBON). (2018). Chapter 37 New Jersey Board of Nursing: Subchapter 7 Certification of Advanced Practice Nurses. Retrieved from https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/regulations/Chapter-37-New-Jersey-Board-of- Nursing.pdf

The Florida Legislature. (2019a). Chapter 456 Health professions and occupations: General provisions. Retrieved December 22, 2019, from http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?Links to an external site. App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0456/0456.html