NRS 430

When discussing utilizing the nurse to their full extent, the IOM report touches on how the nurses are able to practice within different scopes, not based on the extent of the education or their training, however it is based more off of which state the nurse practices in. For example, in some states a nurse practitioner is able to write prescriptions without a supervising physician, and other states do not. This is a clear example of the education or training not determining the extent the nurse practices at, yet the states they are governed by making the decision. With the ever-growing population, it is said in the IOM report that it would be more beneficial to have more nurses at an advanced level in outpatient settings. It is in the best interest of the community in my opinion, which we allow advanced practice nurses or APRNs to practice to their full scope, especially when it comes to primary health care. In Las Vegas it takes 4-6 weeks to get in with most physicians, even as an established patient. With that being said, people are choosing to utilize the ER as their primary care provider because they will get care faster. This leads to overcrowding of the ERs. Additional benefits to allowing nurses to practice to their full extent include improved access to the care of the poor and rural areas, respite and palliative care, care coordination for the chronically ill and elderly, nutrition services, and evaluations that compliment care of other physicians and providers.
The second key message in the IOM report speaks on nurses attaining higher education from LPN to ADN, BSN to MSN to DNP with a seamless transition. The report not only talks about the importance of continuing education though higher degrees of nursing, but also to have mandated certifications in your practice and completion of core skills accompanied by your state board exams. It is in my own opinion that to improve the number of educated nurses we have out there, employers must also