Class 1 Unit 8 COMMENT 2

Answer this discussion with opinions/ideas creatively and clearly. Supports post using several outside, peer-reviewed sources.

1 References, find resources that are 5 years or less

No errors with APA format 6 Edition

Discussion:

The New Regulatory Model for APRNs

Review content in the Hamric textbook that refers to the proposed new Regulatory Model for APRNs. Go to the Internet to review the full text of the Consensus Model. Review regulations imposed by your state board of nursing. How will the new model improve practice parameters and patient safety in your state?

R/ The credentialing of APRNs has been a hot topic for a long time.  Two main groups, the Advanced Practice Nursing Consensus Work Group and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) APRN Committee have come together to provide a framework that is uniform in nature that will allow the credentialing of APRNs to be standardized across the states. Currently, each state has a state board of nursing (BON) that defines the scope of practice for the APRN through their specific Nurse Practice Act. The state also determines the roles that are recognized and the certification examinations that are required to be able to practice in an advanced role (NCSBN, 2008, p. 5).  According to Hamric, Hanson, Tracy, and O’Grady (2014), APRN credentialing is comprised of four components: licensure, accreditation, certification, and education (L.A.C.E.) (p. 558). The idea for a consensus model would foster the implementation of a national regulatory criteria that would apply to all APRN roles and would promote safe patient care.

The APRN Regulatory Consensus Model defines the role of the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, as well as addresses all four components of L.A.C.E.  Although there are other nursing roles that are graduate-level prepared, APRNs provide direct patient care, and this is what sets them apart from other advanced degree nurses.  The Consensus Model (2008) proposes that boards of nursing will “license APRNs as independent practitioners with no regulatory requirements for collaboration, direction or supervision” (p. 14). Currently, in the state of North Carolina, APRNs are required to “have a collaborative practice agreement with a primary supervising physician” (NCBON, Process for Approval to Practice). The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, developed in response to the changing health care environment, suggests that nurses should seek higher levels of education and training and therefore, should be able to practice to their full extent using those higher levels of education and training (2011, p. 4). If APRNs are able to practice independently, creating innovative ways to provide cost-effective, quality healthcare in an accessible fashion, the future could hold improvement for patient outcomes. However, a lot has to change to create this independent environment for APRNs.  

References

Hamric, A. B., Hanson, C. M., Tracy, M. F., & O’Grady, E. T. (2014). Advanced

                practice nursing: An integrative approach (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, 

                advancing health. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/jelly/Downloads/IOM%20report.pdf

National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). (2008). The consensus model for APRN regulation,