Reference no: EM133482091
Assignment:
Two policy issues that affect the current state of health care delivery and population health equity in the United States include nursing workforce shortages and state nurse practice acts that define scope of practice. These have been nursing policy issues for over four decades and necessitate nursing involvement at the legislative and regulatory level. Factors including "unfavorable working conditions, relatively low income potential, more satisfying alternative job opportunities, and lack of nursing faculty" contribute to the nursing workforce shortage (DeNisco, 2021, p. 254). Nursing faculty shortages not only lead to deficits in the number of registered nurses, but also in deficiencies of APRNs which limits patient access to care.
Nursing organizations can lobby for legislative support to increase nursing educational funding at both the baccalaureate and graduate levels. A shortage in APRNs particularly affects underserved areas because they serve as lower-cost primary care providers and provide care to uninsured and underserved populations. While there are federal funding programs through the Public Health Service Act, they have failed to adjust to the increasing cost of education and inflation (DeNisco, 2021).
Nurse Practice Acts (NPAs) delegate a minimum standard of licensure and qualifications that define the scope of practice for nurses within that state to protect the well-being of patients. NPAs need to continue to evolve their definition of nursing practice to meet the needs of the American healthcare public. State NPAs differ when defining APRNs' scope of practice. "Some states have very few restrictions, whereas others limit the ability of the APRN to prescribe medications, independently administer chronic pain injections, admit patients, and conduct a prehospital history and physical" (DeNisco, 2021, P. 255).
States vary in the rules for APRNs' prescriptive authority and ability to prescribe controlled substances. Further developing the nursing workforce, funding nursing education, promoting favorable work environments, and removing barriers to the scope of practice of APRNs will help ensure that medically underserved areas receive better access to healthcare services (DeNisco, 2021). What is your comment/feedback on this statement. PLease add a reference.
FYI, this is the basis of the answer: Identify two major policy issues that affect the current state of health care delivery and population health equity in the United States (may be state or federal). What impact do these population health policies and initiatives have on advanced nursing practice?