Week 6 - Discussion 2 - Dr. G and Class, There isnt any...

Dr. G and Class,
There isn’t any continuity between the outdated state laws and the nurse practitioner’s higher
level of care and nurse practitioners are weighed down by outdated policies. Nurse practitioners are
looking for states to allow full practice authority. The Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) describes
full practice authority as "the collection of state practices and licensure laws that allow for NPs to
evaluate patients, diagnose, order, and interpret diagnostic tests, initiate and manage treatments-
including prescribing medications-under the exclusive licensure authority of the state board of nursing"
(Hain & Fleck, 2014). If nurse practitioners were able to achieve full practice authority it would improve
access to care, streamline care, decrease costs and protect patient choice (AANP, 2014).
We need to achieve continuity for nurse practitioners and in order to do this there needs to be a
change in policies and regulations. Newhouse et al. (2012) suggested having an integrated workforce in
which NPs establish relationships with primary care and specialty physicians. There are also issues with