Essay --

The Time Is Now To Remove Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Scope of Practice Barriers As Americans enter into the dawn of the Affordable Care Act of 2014; and the open enrollment period has begun to allow access to the Health Insurance Marketplace as part of the U.S. healthcare reform 32 million Americans are expected to become newly insured. It is now the time that Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRNs) scope of practice barriers is abolished to allow APRNs the right to practice within the full extent of their education and training. APRNs include nurse practitioners; certified nurse midwives, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and clinical nurse specialists (Luterek, 2013). The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has encouraged the removal of the APRN scope of practice barriers, to legally permit the unrestricted ability to practice within the full degree of their education and training. The IOM noted that as millions of Americans are predicted to access healthcare services under the federal Affordable Care Act, APRNs should be in the forefront to provide that car e (ANA, 2011). Not surprisingly, Nurse Practitioners (NPs) have been providing exceptional health care since 1965 (NPWH). Today, over 125 thousand NPs practice nationwide (NPWH), and see greater than 600 million patient visits each year (ANA, 2011, p. 1). They are legally authorized to practice in all 50 states. NPs are regulated through their state's nurse practice act. They undergo extensive training and national board certification within a population specialty such as family, adult, gerontology, pediatrics, neonatal, acute care, women's health or psychiatric health demonstrating their expert knowledge and continued competence (NPWH). The national shortage of p... ...ope of Practice Barriers for Illinois Advanced Practice Nurses. Health and Medicine Policy Research Group. Chicago: Health and Medicine Policy Research Group. Retrieved February 8, 2014, from http://hmprg.org/assets/root/PDFs/2013/01/Nurse-Practice-Act-Position-Paper-Final.pdf NPWH. (n.d.). NP Facts. Retrieved February 10, 2014, from Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health Caring for Women: http://www.npwh.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3339 RWJF. (2013). Putting the Skills, Knowledge, and Experience of APRNs to Full Use Latest Charting Nursing's Future brief focuses on barriers to practice and how some institutions are overcoming them. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Retrieved February 10, 2014, from http://www.rwjf.org/en/about-rwjf/newsroom/newsroom-content/2013/07/putting-the-skills--knowledge--and-experience-of-aprns-to-full-u.html