CFANPC Continues Participation in Virtual Lobby

Hello All CFANPC Members!

As you all know...many, many bills have been filed that affect NPs this year. Hopefully you accepted the charge at our last meeting to identify the Florida Representative and Senator that represent YOU in Tally! (If you haven't figured that out yet...just hit the links!).

For the next 3 weeks members of CFAPNC will be participating in a "Virtual Lobby" effort with other Nurse Practitioners across our State.

This week we would like you to EMAIL your lawmakers. We encourage you to reach out on Wednesday of this week, however, if you cannot do it on that day, email them any other day – or every day for that matter!

Let's work together in 2015 and modernize our role in Florida!

In your service as President,

Angela Ritten, DNP

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Week 2 email message:

Dear (Representative or Senator)

My Name is (your name). I would like to request your support for:
• HB 547 allowing full practice authority for ARNP
• SB 614 allowing DEA licensure for ARNPs
• HB 281/SB 532 allowing ARNPs to prescribe DEA medications in facilities
• HB 545 Telehealth/SB 478 Telemedicine bill

I also want to share some important information about Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (ARNPs) to inform your decision. Please see below. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about ARNPs in Florida.

Sincerely,

(Your Name/Address)

APNs: Setting the Standards of Safety

Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) include Nurse Practitioners ("ARNP" in Florida), Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs).

• More than 50 years of research supports the safety, effectiveness and high quality of care that Advanced Practice Nurses provide to their patients. Healthcare outcomes have been found to be comparable between Advanced Practice Nurses and Physicians nationwide. Notably, patient satisfaction rates are typically higher with healthcare provided by an Advanced Practice Nurse.

• The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report entitled The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health states, "...what nurse practitioners are able to do once they graduate varies widely for reasons that are not related to their ability, education or training, or safety concerns, but to the political decisions of the state in which they work" (page S-4).

• "Full Practice Authority" laws have passed in 20 states and the District of Columbia allowing Advanced Practice Nurses to evaluate, diagnose, order and interpret diagnostic tests, initiate and manage treatments (including the ability to prescribe medication) under the exclusive licensure authority of the state Board of Nursing. No state has ever rescinded Full Practice Authority laws once passed.

• "No studies suggest that care is better in states that have more restrictive scope-of-practice regulations for APNs than in those that do not. Yet most states continue to restrict the practice of APNs beyond what is warranted by either their education or their training" (IOM, page 3-13).

• There are over 14,000 Advanced Practice Nurses that are licensed in the state of Florida. If they were able to provide care to their full potential, more Floridians would have access to safe, highly quality, patient-centered health care.