The State of Texas currently has many restrictions on Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRN). We are one of thirty-two states in the United States that require Nurse Practitioners to work in a collaborative/supervisory relationship with a physician. Connecticut recently became the 18th state to allow Nurse Practitioners to practice independently (Lowes, 2014). Bill SB 751 for the 84th legislature was introduced by Senator Jose Rodriguez. This bill is aimed at granting Nurse Practitioners in our state autonomy from physician supervision and full prescriptive authority. Nurse practitioners will be able to diagnose, treat and prescribe patients without a physician oversight. Senator Rodriguez represents District 29, which includes El Paso,
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My first contact was with Paulina Lopez; she oversees Constituent services for the El Paso County area. The second contact was Sito Negron, he is the District and Communications Director. I asked Paulina Lopez the following question: “What is Senator Rodriguez’s perspective on APRN practice in Texas and the shortage of Primary care providers?” P. Lopez (personal communication, October 18, 2016) started by telling me the ratios of Primary care providers in Texas to people; which are in the introduction of this paper. She stated El Paso is considered underserved as far as primary care and that rural areas are even worse (P. Lopez, personal communication, October 18, 2016). There is no doubt that there is a primary care provider shortage in Texas and nationwide. Paulina did reiterate for Senator Rodriguez, that he believes APRNs should be allowed to practice to the full extent of their scope, just like in other states (P. Lopez, personal communication, October 18, 2016). Paulina stated that there has been an increase in Nurse Practitioners throughout the years, she gave me the following numbers; in 2001 there were 2,804 NPs and in 2015 18,306 NPs, she said she got those numbers from Senator Rodriguez’s press release (P. Lopez, personal communication, October 18, 2016). The Senator believes those growing numbers in APRNs are the key to addressing the shortage as well as the underserved rural areas. Paulina …show more content…
They are prepared in many aspects such as management, research and scholastically. The APRN must advocate and become involved in improving the profession. They must educate entry level nurses, the public and policy makers to truly make a change in the way policy is driven. The MSN and DNP nurse can bring research and best evidence based practices to the table, which certainly affects the way care is provided. Hain and Feck (2014) state that the NP must take a “outcome driven approach to care” by presenting innovating NP models of care, and showing that those models lead to improved outcomes in patient populations (Hain and Feck, 2014). Since the bill did not make it out of committee, my recommendation would be to continue to pursue the autonomy of Nurse Practitioners in our state. I have already joined the National Association of Hispanic Nurses and plan to join Texas Nurses Association. Based on both the peer reviewed articles I used in this summary, they both clearly state becoming involved is the main way to make changes. With the Affordable Care act the number of insured has grown, which will make the shortage of providers worse. I agree with Senator Rodriguez, in that Nurse Practitioners are the key to handle the issue. With the Affordable Care Act, our healthcare system has been reformed and thus our state must be up to date with the innovations to address issues in
My first contact was with Paulina Lopez; she oversees Constituent services for the El Paso County area. The second contact was Sito Negron, he is the District and Communications Director. I asked Paulina Lopez the following question: “What is Senator Rodriguez’s perspective on APRN practice in Texas and the shortage of Primary care providers?” P. Lopez (personal communication, October 18, 2016) started by telling me the ratios of Primary care providers in Texas to people; which are in the introduction of this paper. She stated El Paso is considered underserved as far as primary care and that rural areas are even worse (P. Lopez, personal communication, October 18, 2016). There is no doubt that there is a primary care provider shortage in Texas and nationwide. Paulina did reiterate for Senator Rodriguez, that he believes APRNs should be allowed to practice to the full extent of their scope, just like in other states (P. Lopez, personal communication, October 18, 2016). Paulina stated that there has been an increase in Nurse Practitioners throughout the years, she gave me the following numbers; in 2001 there were 2,804 NPs and in 2015 18,306 NPs, she said she got those numbers from Senator Rodriguez’s press release (P. Lopez, personal communication, October 18, 2016). The Senator believes those growing numbers in APRNs are the key to addressing the shortage as well as the underserved rural areas. Paulina …show more content…
They are prepared in many aspects such as management, research and scholastically. The APRN must advocate and become involved in improving the profession. They must educate entry level nurses, the public and policy makers to truly make a change in the way policy is driven. The MSN and DNP nurse can bring research and best evidence based practices to the table, which certainly affects the way care is provided. Hain and Feck (2014) state that the NP must take a “outcome driven approach to care” by presenting innovating NP models of care, and showing that those models lead to improved outcomes in patient populations (Hain and Feck, 2014). Since the bill did not make it out of committee, my recommendation would be to continue to pursue the autonomy of Nurse Practitioners in our state. I have already joined the National Association of Hispanic Nurses and plan to join Texas Nurses Association. Based on both the peer reviewed articles I used in this summary, they both clearly state becoming involved is the main way to make changes. With the Affordable Care act the number of insured has grown, which will make the shortage of providers worse. I agree with Senator Rodriguez, in that Nurse Practitioners are the key to handle the issue. With the Affordable Care Act, our healthcare system has been reformed and thus our state must be up to date with the innovations to address issues in