Florida: “Tear Down This Wall” to Empower Nurse Practitioners

2014 was a transformative year for our health care system – both nationally and in the State of Florida. As systemic changes stemming from the Affordable Care Act are implemented, and the need for primary care providers expands, many states have seen the light and been prompted to redefine the role and scope of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) to take full advantage of their capabilities. Sadly, Florida is still not one of them.

 

As more and more states make these strides, it is time we turn a critical eye toward Florida’s current laws and unite to move forward on this issue. At Florida International University’s Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences, we hope our recently launched Nursing Academia ACTIVATE campaign will help make the case for this, not just in Florida, but around the country.

 

As it currently stands in Florida, state practice and licensure laws restrict APRN scope of practice and require a supervising physician in order for an APRN to provide patient care, and restrict APRNs from prescribing controlled substances. Our laws are among the most restrictive in the country. Efforts to pass legislation to bring us more in line with the rest of the country have been blocked time after time.

 

Last spring, yet again, a bill was introduced in the Florida Senate to allow nurse practitioners to practice without physician supervision, including the ability to prescribe controlled substances. We are one of only two states that do not grant nurse practitioners this right. While the bill did not pass in this legislative session, it drew considerable support and was a solid step forward in advancing the issue here in this state.

 

While APRN autonomy is important, there is another equally significant issue to address – the need for uniform standards in licensure, accreditation, certification and education (LACE) across the profession. Consistency and clarity from LACE standardization will help strengthen the industry and allow APRNs to practice the same way, under the same scope, anywhere in the country.

 

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) has launched the APRN Campaign for Consensus to assist states in aligning their APRN regulation with the major elements of The Consensus Model for APRN Regulation. Those major elements [in each of the four roles: Clinical Nurse Specialists, Certified Nurse Practitioners, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists and Certified Nurse-Midwives] are:

– State recognition of each of the four described roles

– Title of APRN in one of the four described roles

– Licensure as an RN and as an APRN in one of the four described roles

– Graduate or post graduate education from an accredited program

– Certification at advanced level from an accredited program that is maintained

– Independent practice

– Independent prescribing

 

At FIU NWCNHS, we firmly support this NCSBN effort and it is with this conviction that we launched Nursing Academia ACTIVATE, a social media effort to raise awareness and champion the APRN Campaign for Consensus. Our ACTIVATE campaign aims to directly engage nursing deans, directors, faculty and other health care leaders to weigh in on the NCSBN initiative to assist states in aligning their APRN regulation.

 

The first step in making this goal a reality is communicating the intricacies of the scope of practice issue to our legislators and creating real change that will positively impact lives on a daily basis. Without the input and buy-in from a cross-section of professions within the health care community, Consensus will not be achieved. I encourage you all to educate yourselves about this issue and contact Florida legislators to express the urgent need to adopt the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation. Together, we must ask the Florida legislature to tear down this wall and empower nurse practitioners to deliver more of the high quality, cost-conscious primary care so needed in our state.