Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to identify the scope of practice in one’s state including level of independence of practice, prescribing authority, any limitations of practice, process for obtaining licensure in your state, certification and education requirements for licensure. Next, students will discuss how the level of independence of practice in their state, i.e., reduced, restricted or full practice, affects patient’s access to care in their local community.
Activity Learning Outcomes
Through this discussion, the student will demonstrate the ability to:
1. Understand NP practice as defined by law (CO2)
2. Determine legislation as defined by legislation, statutes and regulations (CO2)
3. Identify barriers to ensuring patient’s rights (CO3)
Due Date: Wednesday by 11:59pm MST of Week 6
Students must post a minimum of two times in each graded discussion. The two posts in each individual discussion must be on separate days. Posting twice on two different days meets the minimum requirement however for full credit, the student must post at least three substantive posts on three different days. The student must provide an initial post to each graded discussion topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT of Week 6. Subsequent posts, including essential responses to peers, must occur no later than the Sunday, 11:59 p.m. MT at the end of Week 6. Students are expected to submit assignments by the time they are due. Threaded discussions are not considered assignments and are not part of the late assignment policy.
A 10% late penalty will be imposed for discussions posted after the deadline on Wednesday of week 6, regardless of the number of days late. NOTHING will be accepted after 11:59pm MT on Sunday (i.e. student will receive an automatic 0).
Total Points Possible: 100
Requirements:
1. Discuss your state NP community in terms of scope of practice. Include the your state’s scope of practice for NPs including:
o Level of independence of practice
o Prescribing authority
o Any limitations of practice
o Process for obtaining licensure in your state
o Certification and education requirements for licensure.
2. If you live in a restricted or reduced practice state, how has patient care been impacted in your local community from these barriers? For instance, is the ED used for primary care? Are the EDs overcrowded with long wait times? Are there urgent care clinics readily available? Is there adequate access to primary care? If you live in a full practice, how has independent practice of the APN resulted in improved patient access to healthcare?
3. How does access to NPs impacts any healthcare disparities?

Solution

Discuss your state NP community in terms of scope of practice
• Level of independence of practice: The level of independence in my State, Georgia is restrictive. The nurse practitioner in Georgia must collaborate with a delegating physician and obtain a nurse protocol (Clement, 2018). The nurse practitioner must practice within the context of the nurse protocol developed with the physician. The protocol dictates the delegated acts and those that require physician consultation.
• Prescribing authority: In Georgia, nurse practitioner ability to prescribe must be outlined in the protocol agreement between the nurse practitioner and the delegating physician. If the nurse practitioners have submitted a written protocol with the physician, they prescribe Schedules III-V controlled substances (ScopeofPracticePolicy.org, 2020)…………………To access the rest of the solution $5, please click on the purchase button.