APRN Practice Issue Analysis Essay Assignment

APRN Practice Issue Analysis Essay Assignment

Improving individual and community health is the primary goal of population health, which is a critically important field of study. However, the capacity of many stakeholders to advance the cause of public health in this sector is hampered by several obstacles. One of these issues is that there are still impediments preventing nurse practitioners (NPs) from practicing their profession. This continues to be the case even though research suggests that NP independence enhances care quality and safety (O’Reilly-Jacob and Perloff, 2021). In addition, according to the data, only 21 states now provide full practice authorization (FPA) (Kleinpell et al., 2022)APRN Practice Issue Analysis Essay Assignment. This study intends to analyze the obstacles that stand in the way of NP practice and provide potential policy solutions.

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Contextual Analysis

Removing barriers that prevent nurse practitioners from exercising their full scope of practice is essential at this period in the healthcare system’s history when there is a serious lack of primary care doctors. It is anticipated that the United States will have a shortfall of 61,700 to 94,700 primary care doctors by 2025 (Tice et al., 2022). The aging of the population and the development of the rural population have contributed to an increase in the demand for these services; nonetheless, a shortfall has formed. Several stakeholders believe that nurse practitioners (NPs) can meet this need since their education and experience enable them to provide the same services as primary care physicians. However, the use of these products is illegal in several states. Because of this, they cannot make the most of their abilities. The notion of broadening the scope of something improves access without driving up the associated expenses (Gonzalez and Gigli, 2021.). This may be because doctors are paid more than advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs)APRN Practice Issue Analysis Essay Assignment. As a direct result, lowering the obstacles will increase individuals’ access to necessary medical treatment.

Summary of the Historical Development

A nurse practitioner (NP) role was first established at the University of Colorado in 1965. (Tice et al., 2022). However, not a single state was willing to enhance its license requirements. In 1971, Idaho was the first state to officially recognize this role, broadening these specialists’ responsibilities to encompass treatment and diagnosis (Tice et al., 2022). The Rural Health Clinic Act was enacted in 1977 and mandated that nurse practitioners carry out fifty percent of all treatments at rural clinics funded by the federal government (Tice et al., 2022). The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 mandated that the NP be compensated for their services; nevertheless, by 1994, only five states had approved the FPA. (Tice et al., 2022)APRN Practice Issue Analysis Essay Assignment. To this day, the FPA remains a contentious topic, with over half of the world’s nations refusing to implement it.

Socio-Political Influences

Social and governmental issues impact the process of reducing restrictions that are barriers to nursing practice. The need for high-quality, fundamental medical care has significantly grown due to demographic shifts such as an aging population and an increase in the number of rural settlements. Even if diet and medical breakthroughs have contributed to the rise in life expectancy, older people continue to be at a heightened risk for developing chronic illnesses. Access to primary care for the elderly is necessary to reduce the risk of problems that might result in the need for hospitalization. The problem is made worse by societal issues, which increase the urgency of the need for change. In addition, removing obstacles is highly dependent on the rules and regulations enacted as a direct result of political processes. For example, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) resulted in a 20 million-person rise in the number of Americans with health insurance (Tice et al., 2022). The number of individuals who have access to primary healthcare grew as a result of this political activity.

On the other hand, the number of qualified professionals who are essential to the provision of these services has not grown at the same pace. Therefore, in addition to authorizing NP reimbursement, the Budget Reconciliation Act served as a political strategy (Tice et al., 2022)APRN Practice Issue Analysis Essay Assignment. According to the evidence presented here, legislation, both on the national and the state level, is one of the most important political factors to consider when analyzing the efficacy of barrier reduction.

Literature Review and Analysis

Education and Workplace Barriers

NPs are required to have the appropriate abilities as well as a good demeanor in the workplace for them to be able to practice to their maximum capacity. Fothergill et al. (2022) found that the key barriers restricting the employment of NPs in qualitative research were deficiencies in experience, skills, and education. Support in the workplace and improvements to the educational system as a whole are the primary factors that have the potential to erase these barriers. When it comes to the clinical component of an APRN’s job or responsibility, their contribution is acknowledged and appropriately rewarded (Fothergill et al., 2022). For instance, Mustafa et al. (2021) highlighted the significance of nurse practitioners (NPs) in primary care. They acknowledged the requirement for an integration framework that considers three different forms of practice support: systemic, team, and clinic. For integration to be effective, their capacity to provide services traditionally designated for primary care doctors must be acknowledged.

Substituting Shortage of Physicians

If nurse practitioners (NPs) were given complete autonomy, one of the key objectives would be to alleviate the chronic shortage of physicians. According to the findings of Obichi et al. (2021) qualitative investigation, advanced practice nurses (APNs) have the potential to take the role of doctors. Because of their education and expertise, they can provide critical services (such as diagnosis and prescription) without the supervision or coordination of more seasoned medical professionals. According to the findings of Sun et al. (2022)APRN Practice Issue Analysis Essay Assignment, politicians and interest groups were motivated to advocate for the NPs’ FPA by the need to address the problem of a scarcity of providers. These results provide credence to the idea that lawmakers should play a role in creating an atmosphere conducive to NP practice. Legislators also indicate that recognizing these nurses’ competency might change stakeholders’ viewpoints and attitudes about the planned integration of these nurses into primary care.

Impact of NPs’ Full Practice from Primary Data

Opponents of enabling advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to operate independently without the necessity to collaborate with or work under the supervision of a physician are concerned that this approach would lower the standard of care and make it less safe. However, the research findings have allayed these concerns, indicating that advanced-level nurses practice risk-freely and only consult with general practitioners when required (Fothergill et al., 2022). In addition, research focused on implementing a program that allows NPs to give treatment on their own found that other professions, such as pharmacists, are prepared to accept the FPA, and its implementation provided quality is ensured (Dankers-de Maria et al., 2021)APRN Practice Issue Analysis Essay Assignment. According to these results, stakeholders in the healthcare industry must be persuaded that nurse practitioners (NPs) will provide the same level of primary care in terms of safety and quality as their physician counterparts.

Recommendations and Impact on APRN Role/Setting and Practice Dimensions

Three essential suggestions may be derived from the results of a literature study. First, if these obstacles were removed, advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) would be able to provide the highest level of care to their patients. As a necessary precondition, the laws of each state need to be amended to recognize the functions of both the APRN and the FPA. According to Hoffman (2022), the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners was founded with the intention of lobbying for legislation that is particular to NPs. As a result, the new laws need to distinguish APRNs from other nursing positions and broaden the scope of activities these professionals can perform to be effective. Because of this, APRNs will be able to diagnose and prescribe without worrying about being reprimanded or facing legal action, which will benefit the position. As a result, the practice parameters will need to be adjusted as a result of patients seeing APRNs who will provide primary care without the presence of doctors.

Second, advancements should be made in nursing education to make room for the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN). The reason for this is that research has shown that the deployment of NPs is restricted owing to differences in educational levels (Fothergill et al., 2022)APRN Practice Issue Analysis Essay Assignment. This measure will establish a clear path for APRNs, guaranteeing that nurses with advanced degrees will have full authority in diagnosing, treating, and prescribing medical conditions. This suggests that education programs for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) will include information that will prepare nurse practitioners (NPs) to provide services comparable to those provided by primary care physicians.

Thirdly, there should be a review of the present primary care reimbursement procedures to make the system more equitable. Earlier legislation, such as the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, established a unique set of reimbursement guidelines for rural nurse practitioners who deliver primary care in rural areas. The pay for NPs is significantly lower than that of doctors who perform the same duties. Since of this, nurses are less likely to pursue more education because the money they get now does not give a significant incentive. Fair compensation will improve the existing standard of care by ensuring that remuneration is based on the services rendered rather than the profession. Reasonable compensation will enhance the current standard of care.

Conclusion

The objective of increasing access to primary care that is of a high standard prompted the establishment of the APRN position to assist the healthcare system in its pursuit of this aim. This might be done by helping hospitals in using the more extensive knowledge and significant competence of NPs to perform some of the crucial duties previously reserved exclusively for doctors. However, this can only be achieved by removing the limitations that have hitherto prevented APRNs from exercising their full scope of practice. Therefore, this initiative needs to start with the passage of legislation that enables hospitals to delegate diagnostic and prescription tasks to advanced training registered nurses (APRNs) without requiring those APRNs to collaborate with other medical professionals. After that, the development of a professional path for NPs and the streamlining of reimbursement should occur APRN Practice Issue Analysis Essay Assignment.

References

Dankers-de Maria, E. J., Jeurissena, P. P., Batenburgc, R., & van Vughte, A. J (2021). How government policies influence Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant deployment: protocol for a realist evaluation mixed-method study. https://netwerkvso.nl/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/210625-protocol-realist-evaluation-mixed-method-study.pdf

Fothergill, L. J., Al-Oraibi, A., Houdmont, J., Conway, J., Evans, C., Timmons, S., … & Blake, H. (2022). Nationwide evaluation of the advanced clinical practitioner role in England: a cross-sectional survey. BMJ open12(1), e055475. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/1/e055475.abstract

Gonzalez, J., & Gigli, K. (2021). Navigating population foci and implications for nurse practitioner scope of practice. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners17(7), 846-850. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2155825620301769

Hoffman, B. (2022). Full Practice Authority: Determining Readiness Among Nurse Practitioner Students in Mississippi. https://aquila.usm.edu/dnp_capstone/177/

Kleinpell, R., Myers, C. R., Likes, W., & Schorn, M. N. (2022). Breaking Down Institutional Barriers to Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Practice. Nursing Administration Quarterly46(2), 137-143. https://journals.lww.com/naqjournal/Fulltext/2022/04000/Breaking_Down_Institutional_Barriers_to_Advanced.6.aspx

Mustafa, M., Adams, S., Bareham, C., & Carryer, J. (2021). Employing nurse practitioners in general practice: an exploratory survey of the perspectives of managers. Journal of Primary Health Care13(3), 274-282. https://www.publish.csiro.au/HC/HC21036

O’Reilly-Jacob, M., & Perloff, J. (2021). The effect of supervision waivers on practice: A survey of Massachusetts nurse practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical care59(4), 283. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8132562/

Obichi, C. C., Anieche, J. E., Osuala, E. O., & Oruche, U. M. (2021). The Role and Practice of Clinical Nurse Specialist in Nigeria. In Clinical Nurse Specialist Role and Practice (pp. 225-232). Springer, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-97103-2_17 APRN Practice Issue Analysis Essay Assignment

Sun, C. A., Parslow, C., Koyfman, I., Hladek, M. D., & Han, H. R. (2022). Home-based primary care visits by nurse practitioners. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners34(6), 802-812. https://journals.lww.com/jaanp/Fulltext/2022/06000/Home_based_primary_care_visits_by_nurse.5.aspx

Tice, J. R., Brown, W. C., Boyle, M., Martin, R. A., Castillo, R., & Mumba, M. N. (2022). Implementing Full Practice Authority for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses: A Case for Mitigating Critical Mental Health Services. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 10783903221096341. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/10783903221096341

Analysis and Recommendations of Advanced Practice Nursing Issues

The purpose of this 5-6 page paper is to identify a critical issue that relates to population health and the role of the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). Some examples may include removing barriers to nurse practitioners’ ability to practice, enabling APRNs to participate fully as members of hospital and medical staff. Additional examples are included on the American Association of Nurse Practitioners website.

Other sources for topic identification may include the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association and/or your local/state chapter of the AANP.

The expected length of the paper is approximately 5-6 pages, which does not include the cover page and reference pages. Lastly, review the Assignment rubric to ensure you have met the assignment criteria.

Submission Parameters: APRN Practice Issue Analysis Essay Assignment

Please use the following as a guide for drafting your 5-6 page paper.

  1. Introduction (including purpose statement)
  2. Contextual analysis of the issue

o          Provide a brief summary of the historical development of the issue

o          Provide a brief summary on the socio-political influences

  1. Literature Review and Analysis on the selected issue

o          Identify at least 2 primary sources that examines the impact of the selected issue

  1. Recommendations

o          Provide some recommendations to solve the issue

o          Determine how the recommendations may impact the APRN role/setting and practice dimensions APRN Practice Issue Analysis Essay Assignment

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  1. Conclusion

In regards to APA format, please use the following as a guide:

  • Include a cover page and running head (this is not part of the 5-6 page limit)
  • Include transitions in your paper (i.e. headings or subheadings)
  • Use in-text references throughout the paper
  • Use double space, 12 point Times New Roman font
  • Spelling, grammar, and organization is appropriate
  • Include a reference list (this is not part of the 5-6 page limit)
  • Attempt to use primary sources only. That said, you may cite reliable electronic sources (i.e. NCSBN, AANP)APRN Practice Issue Analysis Essay Assignment