AONP Raises Awareness of Full Practice Authority
As this year’s legislative session nears its end, AONP leadership would like to take this opportunity to extend thanks to all who helped support our bill for full practice authority, House Bill 1013.
Whether you made calls or sent emails to legislators, spoke on behalf of full practice authority to your neighbors, or joined us at the Capitol for our Legislative Day, all of your efforts were greatly appreciated and certainly made a difference.
It’s true that this legislative session did not turn out the way we had hoped as HB 1013 failed to get a hearing in the Senate, but we consider our progress this year a great success. The bill passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives by a 72-20, bipartisan vote and we are encouraged by the victory. The success shows how popular the measure was among lawmakers and their constituents. This legislative session dramatically raised the public’s awareness of full practice authority. Along with awareness, public support of full practice authority increased greatly. Although the measure did not become law, huge progress was made.
This session, AONP worked to garner more than 100 news stories and opinion pieces in papers across the state, including several stories and supportive op-eds in the state’s largest paper, The Oklahoman. We also had numerous television stories in both the Oklahoma City and Tulsa markets. Here’s a small sample of stories that ran across the state.
The Oklahoman op-ed published January 19
Tahlequah Daily Press article published February 14
Grand Lake News op-ed published January 30
The Oklahoman article published March 2
The Lawton Constitution article published February 2
The Oklahoman op-ed published February 10
The Journal Record article published March 17
Hospital administrators, AARP Oklahoma, the Oklahoma chapter of Americans for Prosperity, and even some physicians showed their support. A tele-town hall hosted by AARP Oklahoma drew more than 6,000 attendees who were able to learn more about the issue.
As we have seen in other states, gaining full practice authority can be a multi-year process. Momentum for full practice authority continues to grow as more people learn about the issue, and the work accomplished this year will pay dividends down the road.
Over the next few months, nurse practitioners can help further the cause by talking to friends, neighbors and local civic groups about the issue, building additional support and correcting any misinformation. We look forward to continuing our efforts to gain full practice authority in Oklahoma.