APN Professional Development Plan Paper DQ The purpose of this assignment is to provide the student with an opportunity to explore the nurse practitioner (NP) practice requirements in his/her state of practice, NP competencies and leadership skills to develop a plan to support professional development.
Introduction
The term of the scope of practice is frequently associated with certified nurse practitioners. It refers to actions, procedures, and processes that are legally permitted for advanced practice registered nurses by their professional license. The scope of practice is regulated by the Nurse Practice Acts, and every state of the country has its own act and NP prescriptive authority. NP competencies are requirements applied for all advanced practice nurses regardless of their population focus and specialty for effective practice as licensed practitioners. And it goes without saying that for this practice, NPs should develop essential leadership skills.
The purpose of this paper is to review the Florida Nurse Practice Act (the state of practice after graduation) and Nurse Practitioner (NONPF) Core Competencies to get a personal insight into NP scope of practice, education, regulatory, and licensure requirements, essential competencies, and leadership skills. In addition, this work helps to evaluate what personal qualities required for further nursing practice need improvement.
APN Scope of Practice
All essential components of competent and safe nursing practice are displayed in nurse practice acts that regulate the work of registered nurses in all states across the country. According to Florida Statutes, Chapter 464 that includes the Nurse Practice Act (2019), the advanced nursing practice may be executed by clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse anesthetists, certified nurse midwives, and certified nurse practitioners. It should be based on professional knowledge and skills that are acquired through advanced nursing education, certification, training, and accumulated experience.
APN scope of practice includes advanced nursing patient diagnosis and health assessment. Advanced registered nurses are occupied with the ordering and performing of therapeutic and diagnostic tests and procedures with health care equipment, and the interpretation of obtained results. Advanced practice nurses are responsible for the ordering of treatments and appropriate medical devices, and the implementation of corrective, therapeutic, and nursing medical measures to improve the patients’ health statuses and treat diseases. They are in charge of delegating certain activities to other licensed nursing professionals. APNs provide end-of-life and palliative care, health education, advanced patient counseling, and patient advocacy as well.
APN licensure that allows advanced practice registered professionals to execute their practice requires specific education requirements, and a completed application should be submitted according to the establishment of the Department. Clinical practice is permitted for applicants who successfully completed all necessary requirements and maintained national certification as a clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, nurse practitioner, or certified nurse midwife from a national certifying body.
Moreover, for advanced clinical practice, an appropriate graduate degree (a master’s degree in nursing) or the graduation from accredited and approved pre-licensure programs is required for the certification in advanced nursing specialty (Florida Statutes: Chapter 464, 2019). A nurse my obtain licensure either by the examination from the Department or endorsement (Florida Statutes: Chapter 464, 2019). In addition, all applicants should submit the check of criminal history records, electronic fingerprinting, and the verification of current licensure status as is statutorily required.
All applicants who do not pass the examination within six months after graduation or fail it three consecutive times should complete obligatory board-approved remedial or preparatory courses. The APN license’s expiration date and further renewal period are established by rule. A license holder may pay the prescribed fee and renew this document one month in advance before the expiration date. If licensees change their residence or move to another state, they are responsible for informing the Board of Nursing about the change of an address in written form (Florida Statutes: Chapter 464, 2019). An expired license may be restored by making an application, verifying qualifications according to rule, and paying the required license restoration fee.
The Florida Nurse Practice Act pays specific attention to the description of various types of registered nurses’ violations, such as unprofessional, sexual misconduct and minor violations that result in certain disciplinary actions. Punishment may vary from a fine to the denial, revocation, or suspension of a license. Moreover, every advanced practice registered nurse should register the place of his or her practice in the system of the Board of Nursing (Florida Statutes: Chapter 464, 2019). However, there is a wide range of available places such as hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, acute care facilities, clinics, home health care agencies, long-term care facilities, physician’s offices, educational institutions, mental health facilities, and insurance companies.
The focus on strict control over licensees in the Nurse Practice Act demonstrates that Florida allows restricted NP practice. Nurse practitioners may diagnose, educate, and prescribe medicines and treat patients, however, they need constant physician oversight. Despite the fact that full practice status was recommended by the National Council for State Boards of Nursing and the Institute of Medicine in 2010, however, a9 states across the country continue to mandate restricted or limited NP practice regulations (“Where can nurse practitioners work without physician supervision?” n.d.). However, in recent years, the situation began to change as a substantial number of health care leaders from the fields of nursing agreed that advanced practice registered nurses need more independence in their practice in all states.
