Review the Consensus Model
According to the Institute of Medicine (US) (2008), there are more than 267,000 in the US who represent a dominant force in the delivery of healthcare. The Consensus Model for APRN entails accreditation procedures, regulatory mechanisms, the licensing and certification of nurses, and the quality of education received (Institute of Medicine (US), 2008). It is a consistent model of management for the advancement of the nursing practice in the future arranged in a schematic way to be in line with existent interrelationships of Accreditation, Licensure, education and certification. The ANCC foresees that clarity and, thereof the harmonious agreement of state regulations accrued from this contemporary regulatory model will be beneficial to nurses and concurrently improve the delivery of care to patients.
The anticipated uniformity that will be presented by the APRN Consensus Model will enable APRNs practice to their full education and licensure potential. Additionally, the uniformed system will offer new unforeseen opportunities for nurses through eased mobility across boundaries of states.
The consensus model is a provision course of action for the adoption of states regarding uniformity in the ordinance of the designated functions of APRNs. The ARPN Consensus model document provides a full detailed definition of the ARPN under four primary functions: CRNA, CNS, CNM, and CNP (Institute of Medicine (US), 2008). Today, many states have adopted various portions of this model, with variations from state to state. The campaign for consensus is the initiative of NCSBN to have states align their APRN regulations to major the major elements outlined by the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation.
Regulations imposed by the state of PA, and the impacts of the new model on patient safety and practice parameters in PA
Six associations that represent the licensing boards have of recently – in February 2007 – published many guidelines to direct the course of state policy formulators (including Pennsylvania) and their regulatory bodies thereof in the making of judgmental positions relevant to the ambit of nursing practice (Hamric, et al., 2014). The authors elaborated what they believe are five ground rules and assumptions related to the scope of practice legislation:
- Public protection – as the primary aim of policy formulation – should be prioritized in the setting of the practice decisions nurses make, contrary to professional self-interests.
- Avulsions related to the scope of nursing practice are inherently crafted in the immediate delivery of healthcare.
- Professional overlap is necessary
- Healthcare should collaborate, and as such this should become their operational norm.
- Acts of practice should require that license demonstrates that nurses are equipped with the necessary requisite training, competence, and skills to appropriately deliver a health service.
The Pennsylvania state nursing licensure and practice regulations furnish nurses to undertake evaluative and diagnostic (making a diagnosis and ordering for a diagnostic test) for patients. Additionally, nurses can initiate and manage treatment (including prescription medicines) under the exclusive licensure of the tests.
Dower, Moore, and Langelier (2013) point that the existence of effective nursing regulations and maintenance of public safety is dependent on the equipping of the state board of nursing with current and critics information that addresses the workforce, economic, political, regulatory and social issues prevailing in the practice of nurses. The continued integral role that nurses play in the nation’s primary healthcare and the redesign of the healthcare system of the United States, therefore, demands that regulatory boards be on board with the emerging trends and challenges presented with time. The continued adoption of the consensus model across jurisdictions will help ensure full practice authority for APRNs and thus improved patient outcomes.
Demographic examples highlighted below are a suggestion of how the nursing scope of practice is likely to change profoundly, and additionally, increase access to healthcare of Pennsylvanians:
- 6,637 APRNs, over 5,000 assistants of physicians, and more than 3,195 registered Pennsylvania Nurse Anesthetists who will expand the ambit of the nursing practice and consequent resulting in patients receiving better patient-tailored and personalized care in conjunction to freeing doctors to focus on other more demanding therapies.
- Retail and community medical institutions run by APRN are likely to increase, with particular positive impact on rural area where more than three and a half million Pennsylvanians live
- The 8,111 registered Pennsylvania dental hygienists will be legally allowed to offer their healthcare services to over the 89,000 Pennsylvanians residing in 724 nursing homes;
- The 334 nurse midwives registered in Pennsylvania be allowed to render wider scopes of nursing care to more patients, encompassing those living in rural areas.
References
Dower, C., Moore, J., & Langelier, M. (2013). It is time to restructure health professions scope-of-practice regulations to remove barriers to care. Health affairs. 32 (11), 1971-1976 https://healthaffairs.org
Hamric, A. B., Hanson, C., Tracy, M. F., & O’Grady, E. T. (2014). Advanced practice nursing: an integrative approach, (5th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier/Saunders.
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation initiative on the future of nursing, at the institute of medicine. (July 7, 2008). Consensus Model for APRN Regulation: Licensure, Accreditation, Certification & Education. The future of nursing: leading change, advancing health. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2011. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209B70
