Nurse Practitioners

April 1999

Sandy Jorgensen, RN, MSN, CNP
Geriatric Nurse Practitioner

NURSE PRACTITIONERS
    You may have been hearing about nurse practitioners recently and wondered
what exactly is a nurse practitioner. Rest assured, they are not persons
practicing to be a nurse. A nurse practitioner is actually an advanced
practice nurse; that is, a nurse with advanced training and experience. To
become a nurse practitioner these days, an RN must go to graduate school,
receive a Masters degree in Nursing, and then pass a national certification
test in a selected specialty area.
    Nurse practitioners are not a new phenomenon. They have been around for
decades across the country, often providing care to underserved populations.
These nurses have the knowledge and experience to provide a wide range of
health care services. Nurse practitioners practice in multiple settings-
hospitals, offices, clinics, schools, nursing homes and urgent care centers.
NPs have been shown to provide high quality, cost effective care and their
patients are very satisfied with the care and advice they receive.
    NPs have a holistic approach to care that focuses not only on the illness,
but the impact of the illness on their patients and families. This approach
is particullarly important in the care of the older adult. Seniors with
chronic and acute illness definitly benefit from the extra time that NPs have
to spend with them. NPs provide education regarding health promotion and
disease management. They can anticipate needs and guide the patient and the
family to make care choices that are appropriate for each individual.
    Each state establishes their own rules governing NP practice. Barriers have
recently been removed to allow NPs to practice more autonomously in Ohio.
However, NPs must still have a signed agreement with a collaborating physician
who is available for consultation. There are still some restrictions on NP
practice in Ohio that do not exist in other states. NPs in Ohio have not been
widely recognized by insurance plans. This limits the choice of health
insurance subscribers. NPs also cannot sign for prescriptions except at 4
test sites. NPs have been prescribing safely across the country for many
years, but have made numerous attempts in Ohio to do so without success.
Another attempt is currently underway. A letter to you senator in support of
NP practice might go a long way in helping remove these restrictions.
    If you are interested in finding out more about NPs, you can visit the web
site of the NorthEast Ohio Nurse Practitioner Group at:
        http://members.aol.com/drk1701/neonpg02.html
or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners at www.aanp.org
or call the NEONPG at 216-556-5892