Author: Matt

Interim Study examines role of NPs in improving access to health care

Members of the House Public Health Committee will meet tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 4, to study the role that nurse practitioners (NPs) can play in expanding access to primary care for all Oklahomans. Rep. Jon Echols, who requested the study, noted that Oklahoma faces a shortage of primary care providers and said lawmakers must look at creative solutions to address the problem.The interim study is slated to take place from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. in room 206, at the State Capitol. 

Click here to view the press release with more information. 

ANPF Scholarships

The 2015 funding cycle is now open. The American Nurse Practitioner Foundation is proud to announce we are providing $30,000 in education funding. Twelve scholarships at $2,500 each will be awarded. All DNP and NP students who have completed one semester of their program are encouraged to apply. Our education funding opportunities…

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Defying The AMA, Some Politicians Lower Standards For Practicing Medicine by Leah Binder

Last week, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed into law a bill that invents a brand new provider, which they call an “assistant physician,” who has not completed the three to four years of residency most physicians do, hasn’t taken all the exams, and will be called “doctor” by patients. The American Medical Association voted overwhelmingly that this kind of provider is not qualified…

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Nurse Practitioners More In Demand Than Most Physicians by Bruce Japsen

When it comes to what a hospital or health system needs to fill the vacancies in a medical staff, primary care doctors like family physicians and internists have long been the top need.

But climbing the ranks and jumping past many doctor specialties on the demand scale aren’t physicians at all. They’re nurse practitioners….

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Oklahoma health care providers speak out on proposed SoonerCare cuts

Oklahoma’s Medicaid agency is practicing “horrible public policy” by recommending that nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other midlevel providers receive less money for the services they provide to SoonerCare patients, a medical professional and board member said Thursday.

Click here to read full article…

Health Providers: Budget Squeeze Could Shutter Rural Clinics

A top Oklahoma health official is warning that the budget crunch may force the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to cut payments to mid-level medical providers such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, which providers say could lead to the closing of rural clinics. 

Click here to read full article….

In 10 years, nurse practitioners nearly double in US

Over the last decade, the ranks of licensed nurse practitioners have nearly doubled in the U.S., increasing from 106,000 in 2004 to 205,000 by the end of last year, according to data from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

“The explosive growth of the nurse practitioner profession is a public health boon considering our nation’s skyrocketing demand for high-quality, accessible care,” AANP president Ken Miller, PhD, RN, said in the report. Now the challenge will be to push for federal and state laws allowing nurse practitioners to provide more full, direct primary care, he said in the report.

2015 marks the 50th year nurse practitioner has been a licensed profession.

Click here to read the full article.

Nurse Practitioner among the 25 Best Jobs of 2015

U.S. News has named Nurse Practioner as the 2nd best job of 2015. The top jobs were determined by salary, work-life balance and expected employment growth.

Click here to read the article.

Nursing Covering More Health Care

By Deborah Yetter and Jessie Halladay, USA TODAY | March 11, 2010

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Each year, Wendy Fletcher says, she and two partners see more than 5,000 patients at their practice in Morehead, Ky. They are not doctors, but rather registered nurse practitioners who say they are able to increase access to health care and make it more affordable.

“None of us are trying to play doctor,” she said. “If we’d wanted to be doctors, we would have gone to medical school,” added nurse practitioner Melinda Staten of Louisville.

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ICU Outcomes No Different Without Physician Staffing

Reprint from Nurse.com (Wednesday June 8, 2011)

With ICUs facing staff shortages that are predicted to worsen in the future, a recent study suggests that non-physician providers can help address these deficits.

The study by physicians from Beth Israel Medical Center and Columbia University Medical Center in New York City found no significant differences in hospital mortality or other patient outcomes between high-acuity, adult ICUs staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants when compared with those staffed by intensivists or other physicians.

The study included a retrospective review of 590 daytime (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) admissions to two ICUs at one hospital. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants staffed one of the ICUs during the day, with attending physician coverage overnight. In the other ICU, medical residents were present around the clock.

In addition to patient mortality, the researchers found no significant difference between the two ICUs in ICU length of stay and hospital length of stay. Discharge to a skilled care facility, as opposed to home, also was similar after adjusting for other factors.

The researchers noted that as “the number of ICU beds and demand for intensivists increase, alternative solutions are needed to provide coverage for critically ill patients.”

“Staffing models including daytime use of nonphysician providers appear to be a safe and effective alternative to the traditional house staff-based team in a high-acuity, adult ICU,” they concluded.