The Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Dilemma
The U.S. healthcare system has been swayed by the creation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) reform (Public Law 111-148). This reform necessitates an increased amount of primary care providers outside of the traditional realm of medical doctors (MDs) and presents opportunities for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to provide primary care. It therefore promotes the full scope of practice for APRNs to improve patient care and decrease the healthcare costs by increasing the educational and financial support for primary care providers, including nurse practitioners and physician assistants (American Nurses Association, 2010). Organizations, such as American Nurses Association, work diligently with Constituent Member (State) Associations to protect the abilities of APRNs to ensure that state laws are fair and consistent throughout the country and limitations are not inflicted over the scope of practice of APRNs (ANA, n.d.). The opportunity of nurses to provide primary care is dependent on receiving appropriate education from other professionals with a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree (Hodnicki and Lathrop, 2014). However, implementation of a DNP degree could blur the traditional professional lines between MDs and nurses. Many nurses believe that this …show more content…
In 2004, the America Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) recognized the Practice Doctorate in Nursing. This endorsement was significant because AACN “is the national voice for America's baccalaureate- and higher-degree nursing education” (Carlson, 2015). The goal was that by 2015, the nursing schools would have transferred the masters APRNs programs to the DNP level for entry to advanced practice. Now, in 2015, the arguments about the DNP role and transitioning are still under
The U.S. healthcare system has been swayed by the creation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) reform (Public Law 111-148). This reform necessitates an increased amount of primary care providers outside of the traditional realm of medical doctors (MDs) and presents opportunities for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to provide primary care. It therefore promotes the full scope of practice for APRNs to improve patient care and decrease the healthcare costs by increasing the educational and financial support for primary care providers, including nurse practitioners and physician assistants (American Nurses Association, 2010). Organizations, such as American Nurses Association, work diligently with Constituent Member (State) Associations to protect the abilities of APRNs to ensure that state laws are fair and consistent throughout the country and limitations are not inflicted over the scope of practice of APRNs (ANA, n.d.). The opportunity of nurses to provide primary care is dependent on receiving appropriate education from other professionals with a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree (Hodnicki and Lathrop, 2014). However, implementation of a DNP degree could blur the traditional professional lines between MDs and nurses. Many nurses believe that this …show more content…
In 2004, the America Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) recognized the Practice Doctorate in Nursing. This endorsement was significant because AACN “is the national voice for America's baccalaureate- and higher-degree nursing education” (Carlson, 2015). The goal was that by 2015, the nursing schools would have transferred the masters APRNs programs to the DNP level for entry to advanced practice. Now, in 2015, the arguments about the DNP role and transitioning are still under