If this bill passed, the regulatory responsibility of Nurse Practitioners would be moved from the Board of Medicine to the Board of Nursing. Two political organizations that have been very outspoken about this bill are the Medical Society of Virginia (MSV) and the Legislative Coalition of Virginia Nurses (LCVN). The MSV believes that Nurse Practitioners do not have the education to allow this expansion of their scope of practice and that this is simply not in the interests of health, safety, and welfare of the citizens and patients of the commonwealth (Dan Carey, February 5, 2010). The LCVN states that this expansion would allow Nurse Practitioners to practice fully within their scope of practice. They believe that this change is long overdue and will expand the general public’s access to health care. Unfortunately, this bill has been defeated for the year in the Senate Education and Health Committee and will not have another chance to be voted on until next year.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Political Influences
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As a future nurse, I fully support this bill. Although, from reading all of the blog postings, I cannot help but to wonder what physicians think about this bill passing. I am especially curious about the opinions of the physicians who have nurse practitioners as their subordinates. Do they think that nurse practitioners need as much supervision as what they have by law, or do physicians think they are capable of handling the responsibility that this bill will entail? I think that their opinion is the most valuable because they would be the best judge in determining whether or not nurse practitioners can successfully take on more responsibility.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point, Cari. Physicians are certainly an integral part in determining the future of this bill. In fact, they generally oppose SB263. Dan Carey, President of the Medical Society of Virginia spoke out against this bill at the General Assembly on February 5 by saying, "If we want to protect the citizens and patients of the commonwealth, and be good stewards of the practice of medicine here, then we need to engage in such scope of practice disputes. We need not only to engage but to triumph." Physicians generally seem to hold the opinion that nurse practitioners do not have the appropriate education to practice independently. I agree that some changes may need to be made, not only to help the bill pass, but also to help gain the support of physicians. Nurse practitioners will always need to work collaboratively with doctors in one way or another, even if they are practicing independently. Gaining their support may be one of the biggest challenges for nurse practitioners determined to get SB263 passed.
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