The capability of nurse practitioners may be diminished by controlling protocols

Abstract

Nurse practitioners will become a vital component of the health workforce because of the growing need to manage chronic illness, to deliver effective primary health services, and to manage workforce challenges effectively. In addition, the role of nurse practitioner is an excellent example of increased workforce flexibility and changes to occupational boundaries. This paper draws on an Australasian research project which defined the core role of nurse practitioners, and identified capability as the component of their level of practice that makes their service most useful. We argue that any tendency to write specific protocols to define the limits of nurse practitioner practice will reduce the efficacy of their contribution. The distinction we wish to make in this paper is between guidelines aiming to support practice, and protocols which

The status of Australian nurse practitioners: the first national census

“…Our results confirm that many currently employed Australian nurse practitioners still do not have approval for required protocols; a situation which has been described as controlling nurse practitioner practice. 28 Furthermore, as one respondent noted, this lack of approval has far-reaching implications for both the nurse practitioners and other health professionals with whom they work.…”

Nurse prescribing in Poland

“…[3,4,6,9] In many European countries prescribing rights have been extended to other people than medical practitioners to improve effectiveness and access to medication, particularly in regions with insufficient number of doctors. [5,10] Yet, there are considerable differences in the scope and degree of prescribing rights and the pace of the related developments.…”

Nurse practitioners versus doctors diagnostic reasoning in a complex case presentation to an acute tertiary hospital: A comparative study

“…Countries, such has NZ, Australia and the United States (US) have a rigorous assessment process and require a Master's degree (Carryer et al, 2007;Kleinpell et al, 2008). New Zealand and Australia and some US states allow nurse practitioners to practice independently without supervision from a physician (Carryer et al, 2007;Kleinpell et al, 2008;Lowes, 2014).…”

“…Countries, such has NZ, Australia and the United States (US) have a rigorous assessment process and require a Master's degree (Carryer et al, 2007;Kleinpell et al, 2008). New Zealand and Australia and some US states allow nurse practitioners to practice independently without supervision from a physician (Carryer et al, 2007;Kleinpell et al, 2008;Lowes, 2014). The US recommend nurse practitioner education programmes move to a Doctorate degree by 2015 (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2012), however laws and regulations pertaining to nurse practitioner scope of practice (including prescribing authority) remain inconsistent from state to state (Poghosyan et al, 2012).…”