Lack of full practice authority (FPA) for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) is a barrier to the provision of efficient, cost-effective, high-quality, and comprehensive health care services for some of our most vulnerable citizens (Agency for Healthcare
A sudden growth in the need for health care services during the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of our health care system, particularly a shortage of adequately trained health care providers. Federal and state governments responded by removing the scope of practice restrictions on nurse practitioners (NPs), allowing them to deliver care to patients without restrictions. NP full practice authority could be part of a longer-term plan to address healthcare inequities and deficiencies rather than merely a crisis measure. However, the changes to support full practice authority that were enacted to address COVID-19 are temporary and will be reversed when the executive orders expire. To support policy makers’ efforts to grant full practice authority to NPs beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, this manuscript summarizes the existing evidence on the benefits of permanently removing state-level scope of practice barriers and outline specific recommendations for policy, practice, and research.
This article presents stories from Florence Nightingale’s life to return the reader to caring as the basis for justice-making. The authors present a view that true justice-making is not an analytic concept but rather one that is grounded in compassion and caring.
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