| Continued from Page
1
The Texas Board of Nurse Examiners will vote in October whether to amend the scope of practice for advanced practice nurses and clinical nurse specialists. The proposal would restrict advanced nursing practice to the following recognized areas:
Advanced Nurse Practitioner:
Acute Care Adult
Acute Care Pediatric
Adult
Family
Gerontological
Neonatal
Pediatric
Psychiatric/Mental Health
Women's Health
Clinical Nurse Specialist:
Adult Health/Medical-Surgical
Community Health
Critical Care
Gerontological
Pediatric
Psychiatric/Mental Health
Texas Board of Nurse Examiners
|
Shine and Starck said the board of nurse examiners is overstepping its authority by issuing rules and decisions that shape nursing school curriculum — which they argue is the domain of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
“What the board says is that everybody needs to be a generalist first,” Starck says. “Then they can do a post-master’s for that specialty. Well, that’s more time and more money, and a post-master’s course is not as in-depth as a full program. Also, it puts a burden on hospitals to do this specialty training.”
Thomas said regulators are put in the position of being the “tail wagging the dog” in terms of curriculum, but stresses that the board has to consider how to derive standards from an area (advanced practice nursing) where requirements nationwide are varied.
“That standard is not being set by another entity, so it falls to the board to evaluate it,” Thomas says.
“But I think having this discussion of state rules is a good thing. It encourages dialogue, and I hope in the end, consistent with our end will do the best thing for the public.”
To comment on this story, send e-mail to editorsc@nurseweek.com.
|
Reply to Article