APN Clinical Roles, Evidence-Based Strategies for Achieving Continuity

Background: APN, Licensing, and the Associated Challenges

The changing landscape of nursing requires improved services;
An assessment of nurses’ skills and competencies is required;
A wide range of terms used in APN licensing complicates the understanding;
Lack of consistency between regulations in different states reduces nurses’ mobility;
Changes to the current APN licensing policies are required.

Licensure: the provision of practice-associated guarantees to an APN;
Accreditation: the process of determining the quality of education in different nursing schools;
Certification: the assessment of nursing students’ knowledge and skills;
Education: the provision of programs aimed at increasing nurses’ proficiency;
LACE standards and considerations are different in each state.

Requirements for licensure: completing an in-state program;
Requirements for accreditation: attending an accredited program;
Requirements for certification: 500 hours of clinical experience;
Presence of clinical leadership and clinical research skills;
Ability to provide patient education and consultations (“Advanced Practice Nurse requirements in California,” 2017).

Requirements for licensure: graduate or post-master degree in nursing;
Requirements for accreditation: attending an accredited program;
Requirements for certification: substantial clinical experience;
Application fee of $125 as a necessary component;
Applicants from other states must have an official verification (“Advanced Practice Nursing Illinois,” 2017).

Requirements for licensure: finishing an approved academic program;
Requirements for accreditation: Council on Higher Education Accreditation recognition;
Requirements for certification: clinical experience of at least 500 hours;
Provision of the application fee for nurses;
Certification provided by the National Certification Corporation.

Importance of maintaining continuity between state boards;
Use of the existing legal system;
Creation of regulations for maintaining the continuity intact;
The active promotion of interdisciplinary communication among nurses (Rudner & Kung, 2017);
Focus on compromise as the basis for conflict management.

Using social media as the means of retaining communication and reciprocity between boards;
Promoting interdisciplinary cooperation among boards;
Altering the legal standards for cooperation between the boards;
Shaping communication values to encourage boards to cooperate;
Addressing cross-cultural and economic factors preventing boards from reciprocity.

A clear and well-developed value system and nursing philosophy across boards;
The active promotion of patient-centered values and the focus on improving patient outcomes;
Using observations within the community to determine the necessary improvements;
Focusing on the needs of all stakeholders, including nurses, to improve the quality of services;
Introducing opportunities for nurses to improve their skills and acquire new knowledge;
Cooperating to design new educational programs for patients and nurses alike.

The current status: no independent practice for nurses in Florida;
The necessity for nurses to be supervised by physicians or other healthcare practitioners;
Nurses can monitor patients and introduce changes to drug therapies;
Nurses are allowed to run diagnostic tests and define possible therapies for managing patients’ needs;
However, nurses must be supervised by physicians (“Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner requirements in Washington,” 2017).

The lack of clear and uniform standards across boards;
The absence of cooperation among members of different boards;
Need to introduce more opportunities for nurses to develop crucial competencies;
The necessity to offer a more patient-centered approach;
The urgency of enhancing communication and collaboration.

Rudner, N., & Kung, Y. M. (2017). An assessment of physician supervision of nurse practitioners. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 7(4), 22-29.