Introduction
The activities of nurse practitioners are coordinated not only by ethical and professional guidelines but also by official requirements for the work of medical specialists. The specific rules governing how to obtain the necessary licenses and certificates vary locally, and different regulations may apply. These regulations, in turn, can affect the quality of primary care, and if significant deterrents are promoted, the work of staff becomes more difficult.
Through the assessment of the NP scope of practice in Florida, relevant official rules and regulations for the coordination of professional practice need to be reviewed to identify appropriate work environments and determine potential barriers to productive and independent practice.
Florida’s Scope of Practice for NPs
Level of Independence of Practice
NPs’ practice if Florida is associated with a number of conventions and cannot be called absolutely independent. According to Cimiotti et al. (2019), a special statute defines the procedure for obtaining certificates from the national board and establishes specific protocols according to which the activities of designated specialists must take place.
In addition, the state health department allows NPs to work independently not only after receiving the appropriate confirmation but also only in the case of agreements with other employees. In particular, nurse practitioners must enter into an agreement with a physician to provide independent family, pediatric, or another type of care (Cimiotti et al., 2019). This restricted form of practice is common in some other states of the country, and in Florida, as in California, the official statute defines the autonomy and the procedures to perform to obtain access to independent practice.
Prescribing Authority
The Florida statute provides for corresponding control procedures for NPs. However, these rules do not concern all NPs without exception. As per the document, the prescribing authority comes into play when NPs graduate from an educational program leading to a master’s or doctorate degree (Cimiotti et al., 2019).
In this case, the training of specific clinical skills is necessary, and to gain access to work, employees with high qualifications and academic degrees must obtain approval from the board authorities. Otherwise, NPs cannot start free activities and have autonomy, which confirms the restricted type of practice in the state.
Limitations of Practice
Some ambiguous nuances in NPs’ practice can be considered limitations. For instance, from the perspective of physician supervision, there is no clear order of regulations, which in practice is reflected in the lack of well-coordinated collaboration. According to the study by Chapman et al. (2019), based on a survey of NPs in Florida, only 12% of them did not have physical supervision, and this indicator did not depend on real practical experience (p. 41). The inability to sign care documents and prescribe medications are also limitations for NPs in the absence of a special certificate.
Process for Obtaining Licensure in Florida
The process for obtaining licensure for NPs in Florida involves several steps. To begin with, a medical professional should choose an appropriate NP specialty and obtain the required education by completing a specific program (Hudspeth & Klein, 2019). After that, the graduate is required to obtain the necessary national certificate by submitting a request to the appropriate authority and prove professional suitability by attaching documents on the training completed (Hudspeth & Klein, 2019).
Obtaining a certificate makes it possible to obtain an NP license and choose a workplace in accordance with the chosen specialty (Hudspeth & Klein, 2019). This algorithm is the only one possible and does not allow the omission of individual steps because a clear licensing procedure is prescribed in official regulations.
Certification and Education Requirements for Licensure
To become a nurse practitioner in Florida, a specialist should obtain a master’s or a doctorate degree in a particular specialty. The first stage may include an educational program lasting from one and a half to three years, depending on the chosen specialty (Hudspeth & Klein, 2019).
After that, obtaining the certificate should take place in accordance with a clearly established procedure. Approval from the national board must be obtained, and this procedure is possible only after the full completion of education (Hudspeth & Klein, 2019). Applying, paying the fee, and passing the certification exam are all required steps (Hudspeth & Klein, 2019). After that, a medical specialist can expect to obtain the necessary license.
Impacts of Patient Care
Due to the fact that Florida is a state with restricted NP practice, which is associated with mandatory oversight by supervising authorities, some barriers affect the quality of patient care negatively. In particular, according to Martin et al. (2020), this is expressed in limited access to the services of medical specialists, which is associated with a reduced NP workforce. In addition, as the researchers note, “state-level restrictions for nurse practitioners contribute to pre-existing barriers to care and inhibit full workforce utilization in disadvantaged communities and underserved populations” (Martin et al., 2020, p. 582).
Although the emergency department is operational in my local community, it is often overcrowded due to long waiting times, and urgent care clinics work under a heavy burden. As a result, access to primary care is reduced but not completely absent. In my case, self-practice shows improved patient access to primary care because I do not have to regularly report and get clearances for patient interventions, which, in turn, speeds up the time to interact with the population and improves access to healthcare.
Access to NPs and Healthcare Disparities
NPs’ practice is directly related to interaction with vulnerable populations. Due to this, as Carroll (2019) argues, medical professionals regularly face health disparities, and limited access to care is one of the catalysts for the problem. The inability to receive appropriate assistance in a timely manner forces people to turn to private institutions, which, in turn, entails losses.
Some patients need constant supervision due to chronic diseases, but the lack of stable access does not allow this practice to be implemented. As a result, their health condition deteriorates, and although it is not the fault of NPs, they are indirectly involved in the process of expanding health disparities. Therefore, addressing the issue of access to care should be a significant area of work for authoritative boards.
Conclusion
The analysis of NP scope of practice in Florida has revealed the relevant regulations and official requirements for the working conditions of medical professionals, barriers and restrictions, as well as opportunities for obtaining certificates and licenses. Since Florida is a state with restricted practice, local NPs are under the control of higher physicians and oversight bodies, although, in some cases, this activity is carried out inefficiently. Due to restricted practice, patient access to NPs is often complicated, which, in turn, manifests itself in extended health disparities.
References
Carroll, S. M. (2019). Respecting and empowering vulnerable populations: Contemporary terminology. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 15(3), 228-231. Web.
Chapman, S. A., Toretsky, C., & Phoenix, B. J. (2019). Enhancing psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner practice: Impact of state scope of practice regulations. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 10(1), 35-43. Web.
Cimiotti, J. P., Li, Y., Sloane, D. M., Barnes, H., Brom, H. M., & Aiken, L. H. (2019). Regulation of the nurse practitioner workforce: Implications for care across settings. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 10(2), 31-37. Web.
Hudspeth, R. S., & Klein, T. A. (2019). Understanding nurse practitioner scope of practice: Regulatory, practice, and employment perspectives now and for the future. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 31(8), 468-473. Web.
Martin, B., Phoenix, B. J., & Chapman, S. A. (2020). How collaborative practice agreements impede the provision of vital behavioral health services. Nursing Outlook, 68(5), 581-590. Web.