Emory Becoming an APRN

This article talks about how the use of acute care nurse practitioner helps hospitals deliver better care because the APRNs are able to draw from past experiences in order to provide the best care to their patients.

This article asks the question: "Compared to other providers (physicians or teams without APRNs), are APRN patient outcomes of care similar?" The study is specific to USA and includes data regarding NPs, CNRAs, and CNMs. Outcomes were determined by the following: patient satisfaction with provider/care, patient self-assessment of perceived health status, functional status, blood glucose, serum lipids, blood pressure, emergency department visits, hospitalization, duration of ventilation, length of stay, and mortality (p9).

The researchers in this article focused on analyzing what kind of economic impact that giving APRNs full scope of practice in North Carolina would have. They calculated the impact by first projecting the increase in APRN graduates choosing to work in the state after full scope would be awarded. Projections of the increase in demand for providers due to both the ACA and an aging population were also taken into consideration. The findings in this analysis were that giving APRNs full scope of practice in the state would benefit the economy with increased output, employment, and tax revenue all while decreasing provider shortages. The state could save upwards of $495 million in gross product annually.

Hopefully, results such as these will give other states with more restrictive policies incentive to change their practice guidelines.

The APRN role is one that is continually evolving globally due to health care provider needs. This article looks specifically at barriers APRNs face that hinder them from practicing to the full extent of their scope and how to face these barriers to promote full scope of practice and address healthcare needs.

Nurse Practitioner Workforce Article

This article was presented by the National Governors Association on the role that NPs can fill in healthcare

The AAFP view on primary care for the 21st century and how NPs an help to bridge the healthcare gap.

How NPs can fulfill the role of healthcare in rural America

Impact out of how PCNP's in palliative care are making a positive and sometimes neutral (no negative) impact in healthcare and healthcare cost. There are better articles (from abstract alone), but no full length available for some reason via Emory Database/CINAHL/google (just not free/inaccessible).

BACKGROUND: The trauma service experienced preventable delays caused by an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education work restrictions and a 16% increase in patient census. Furthermore, nurses needed a consistently accessible provider for the coordination of care. We hypothesized that using experienced acute care nurse practitioners (ACNPs) on the stepdown unit would improve throughput and decrease length of stay (LOS) and hospital charges. Moreover, we hypothesized that adding ACNPs would improve staff satisfaction. On December 1, 2011, the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Division of Trauma reassigned ACNPs to the stepdown area 5 days a week for a pilot program. METHODS: LOS data from December 1, 2011 through December 1, 2012 was compared with data from the same months from the previous two years and estimated hospital charges and patient days were extrapolated. Physician and nursing surveys were performed. Data from 2010 (n = 2,559) and 2011 (n= 2,671) were averaged and the mean LOS for the entire trauma service was 7.2 days. After adding an experienced ACNP, the average LOS decreased to 6.4 days, a 0.8 day reduction. Per patient, there was a $ 9,111.50 savings in hospital charges, for a reduction of $27.8 million dollars in hospital charges over the 12 month pilot program. RESULTS: A confidential survey administered to attending physicians showed that 100% agreed that a nurse practitioner in the stepdown area was beneficial and helped throughput. Dayshift nurses were surveyed, and 100% agreed or strongly agreed that the ACNPs were knowledgeable about the patient's plan of care, experienced in the care of trauma patients, and improved patient care overall. CONCLUSION: The addition of experienced ACNPs resulted in the decrease of overall trauma service LOS, saving almost $9 million in hospital charges

When I typed in "APRN history" into Google, this was the first item to populate. The article is from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners website and is a timeline of significant events that have occurred over the course of APRN history. I was surprised to see that one of the first NP programs was created at Boston College. My mother is a graduate from their BSN program! The AANP was developed in 1985 and has since helped pioneer the career. Enjoy!

This site breaks down the role of a nurse, how much they've grown, and organizations that have developed, decade by decade.

This was a great overview of the nurse practitioner role. There was also a very interesting infographic on the website as well.

This is a great systematic review that delves into state by state regulations on scope of practice for APRNs and how restrictive practice ultimately reduces access to healthcare particularly in rural populations. The impact of the ACA and shortage of PCPs to meet this demand is also explored. Enjoy!

NAPNAP Position Statement on Age Parameters for Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Practice

This article details the age and scope of practice for Pediatric Nurse Practioners based on NAPNAP guidelines. This helps to guide both institutions and practioners with an age related scope of practice.