{"id":3157,"date":"2016-06-07T12:00:31","date_gmt":"2016-06-07T17:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/?p=3157"},"modified":"2018-04-20T10:12:18","modified_gmt":"2018-04-20T14:12:18","slug":"nursing-veterans-back-to-health-nurses-as-doctors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/nursing-veterans-back-to-health-nurses-as-doctors","title":{"rendered":"Nursing Veterans Back to Health: Nurses as Doctors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n \n
\n \n
\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n 5\/5 - (1 vote) <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

During the last week of May, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)\u00a0released a proposal<\/a>\u00a0 that would give full practice authority to advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) who work for the VA. Under the new rule, nurses would be allowed to practice without physician supervision, regardless of state law, as long as they are within the scope of VA employment.<\/p>\n

This would give nurses the power to diagnose and manage patients with acute and chronic illnesses. This includes prescribing medications\u00a0and ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests among other things.<\/p>\n

A History of Long Wait Times<\/h2>\n

In a report published\u00a0in March 2016<\/a>, an audit from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that not all newly enrolled veterans were able to access primary care. Of the 180 new enrollees in the GAO’s review, 60 of them had not seen a healthcare provider by the end of the audit.\u00a0Nearly half of them did not get access to care because VA medical staff did not schedule these veterans appointments in accordance with policy.<\/p>\n

\"Frustrated

According to the GAO, veterans have to wait anywhere from 22-71 days to see a primary care provider.<\/p><\/div>\n

For the 120 new enrollees that did get to eventually see a primary care provider, they had to wait on average for 22 to 71 days from the day they made the request. For twelve veterans, they had to wait over<\/em> 90 days.<\/p>\n

Expanding Nurses’ Scope of Practice<\/h2>\n

With the proposed rule changes, the VA is hoping that it will help increase access to primary care providers for veterans. In a statement<\/a> released shortly after their proposal, VA Under Secretary for Health, Dr. David J. Shulkin says, “The purpose of this proposed regulation is to ensure VA has authority to address staffing shortages in the future.”<\/p>\n

The new rules would subdivide APRNs into four categories:<\/p>\n