Introduction
The nursing profession is one of the most important careers. When the rate of infection of the COVID-19 continued to rise, people depended on the nurses. They were responsible for taking care of those who showed signs and symptoms of infection. This meant risking their lives in the line of work since the main form of transmission of the disease was contact with an infected person. In the United States, every state has a board that controls the field of nursing. Before becoming a registered nurse licensed to practice in one of the states, one has to follow specific guidelines as defined in the Nurse Practice Act.
It is impossible for someone with licensure from New Jersey to work or perform nursing duties in another place outside of the state unless it is allowed in the host state. Through the rules, the public is also kept safe from improper means of care administration. There have been cases in the past of women who complained to have lost their children during delivery as a result of negligence by the nurses. Investigation on the incidents suggests that most of the responsible parties are unqualified to perform the nursing duties. This paper focuses on the Nurse Practice Act and the APN scope of practice guidelines in New Jersey.
The duty of the state is to ensure that those who receive nursing care are protected and, thus, the importance of a nursing license. Safe and competent practice is based on the laws stated in the state’s NPA and the regulations (Kowalski et al., 2020). The practice of nursing as a registered individual is described as diagnosing and treating responses to potential or actual physical and emotional problems. This can be through counselling, case-finding, or provision of care supportive to life and wellness and implementing medical regimens as instructed by a licensed physician. Diagnosing means identifying and discriminating between physical and psychosocial indicators important to the execution and management of the nursing regimen within the scope of the registered specialist.
Treating in the context of nursing refers to the selection and performance of the therapeutic measures vital to the productive management and implementation of the nursing regimen. The responses mean symptoms, signs, and processes that denote the person’s medical need for a potential or actual problem (Pontieri-Lewis, 2020). The nursing practice as a licensed nurse refers to the performance of responsibilities and tasks within the case-finding framework. The terms nursing, practical nursing, and professional nursing as utilized in the Act cannot be construed to consist of nursing by students in a school approved by the board.
The terms do not as well stand for nursing done in institutions, hospitals, or agencies accredited by the board for this aim by graduates of the above-mentioned schools waiting for results of their first licensing examination. Most of the time, the board is the one that is in charge of the schedule of the test. One can as well be waiting to attain a certain age to be qualified to undertake the examination. Additionally, the terms cannot be used to mean nursing that is conducted for a period of fewer than twelve months.
The Act is clear on who is a nurse and who is not, for instance, in a case involving an individual who is encountering problems that need first aid assistance. The friends, family, or people close to the situation offering help cannot be termed as nurses (Ingwell-Spolan, 2018). There are times that individuals receive care services according to the practice of some religious beliefs of particular churches or denominations. This is mainly done in the form of prayers to the sick person, and the board does not qualify the individual administering the service as a nurse. Despite this, it also ensures that it cannot deny a licensed nurse who is associated with a religious establishment or denomination. In other terms, it is okay for even someone to be a pastor at church while still a registered and licensed nurse.
APN Scope of Practice Guidelines
For nurse practitioners who prescribe, dispense, or administer controlled substances, it is compulsory to have a DEA number. The number allows a provider to write prescriptions for substances such as morphine, opioids, and steroids. It enables the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to track those responsible for issuing controlled substances and the amount in which they ate given (Cimiotti et al., 2019). The number is peculiar to every provider and can only be given to those who have passed through the appropriate certification and testing as directed by the state and federal laws.
It is still possible to work without the number as long as someone is not involved with controlled substances. However, this proves to be difficult for many nurse practitioners, and thus, it is better to apply for it. To get the official order form, one can apply online at the United States Department of Justice website. This is a resource that is only reserved for individuals who have never obtained a number before. There are other ways which include calling the DEA headquarters or using the mail service.
Educational Requirements
Official transcript from school should be directly mailed to the nursing board as proof of the following: graduation from a master’s program tailored to teach as well as prepare nurse specialists. If an individual has graduated from a Post-Master’s program aimed to prepare an Advanced Practice Nurse, they have to ask the school to send a transcript as evidence of the same. Another requirement is someone must have completed a graduate-level three-credit course in Pharmacology from a school approved by a national accrediting agency identified by the state board. It can also be a pharmacology course of not less than forty-five hours incorporated into the Masters in the Nursing program. Noteworthy is that for the integrated or incorporated pharmacology whereby the completed hours are not indicated on a transcript, one is needed to have a Director for their ANP program report on their behalf.
A nurse who finished the graduate level 3 credit pharmacology program more than before filing an application has to offer evidence of meeting requirements. These include a transcript for the program done within half a decade to the application for APN in New Jersey. It should be directly submitted to the board from a school approved by any national accrediting agency. A continuing education program certification can be submitted too. The training received should be associated with the applicant’s AP’s practice scope, including pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics principles and their clinical application. It is required that the certificate indicates obtainment within five years before the application date.
Licensure and Regulatory Requirements
To obtain licensure, one must pass through the examination stage. All applicants for certification are needed to pass the highest level practice test successfully in the specialization area allowed by the board. Verification in writing that shows the individual has excelled is to be handed to the board by the national certifying agency. Apart from examination, the endorsement is the other requirement that can deny someone the chance to practice in New Jersey.
An APN certified in another state and wished to receive certification in New Jersey to practice, or present, call and represent themselves as such needs to be certified by the board in the state. An advanced practice nurse has prescriptive authority in the state and must have a joint protocol with a collaborating doctor who has licensure to operate in the state (Grecu & Spector, 2019). This is before issuing or instructing any individual on any medication or device (Altmiller & Hopkins-Pepe, 2019). A licensed prescriber of medicines in the state is needed to utilize uniform prescription blanks, which may be bought only from accredited vendors. All licensees have an ongoing obligation to report to the nursing board any changes in data. The APN should let the board know in writing of any address change not later than thirty days.
The state of New Jersey is not one that allows full practice authority, and the requirement for advanced nurse practitioners to possess a joint protocol is limiting access to care. If they lose the physician collaborator, they are no longer permitted to instruct medicines or medical devices, which restrict their capability to sufficiently care for patients. Regarding the NONPF core competencies, the initial set was established in 1990. An update was done and incorporated into the collection in 2012. These apply to every nurse practitioner irrespective of their medical speciality or patient populace focus. Experts came up with them in clinical practice as well as education. There are nine broad areas of core competencies, including scientific foundations, quality, leadership, practice inquiry, policy, technology and information literacy, ethics, health delivery system, and independent practice.
Every one of these is subdivided into particular objectives that all nurse practitioners must illustrate to graduate NP school. Moreover, these schools utilize core competencies to tailor their curricula to guarantee that a student gains skills, knowledge, and capabilities to practice as a licensed independent practitioner (Duff, 2019). The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties asserts that the accomplishment of the competencies is of more value than the total amount of hours someone performs. On a personal level, I have strengths in ethics as well as technology and information literacy.
However, I need improvement in leadership and quality as it is still difficult for me to lead healthcare teams or ensure that the service I render increases the expected medical outcome. I have the ability to utilize communication tools, digital technology, and networks to access, integrate, manage and communicate data with effectiveness. I can achieve all that while comprehending the ethical repercussions of scientific advances. The two scholarly activities that someone can do to achieve core competencies include learning about developing emotional intelligence and building relationships with other team members.
Emotional intelligence refers to the capability to view as well as comprehend one’s emotions and that of others around them. It gives a leader the ability to control their feelings while reading others and thus communicate better (Duff, 2019). Additionally, it is important for individuals in leadership positions to understand how to establish relationships between team members. Individuals follow someone who leads by example, and they portray themselves as considerate and fair, then they extend that to the team. The three skills needed to lead as a nurse practitioner within complex systems include being a team player, decision-making, and passion for the job.
Being a team player guarantees that the team members are motivated to carry out the tasks allocated by the leader. Decision-making helps in the moments of doubt while passion for the job ensures that the followers gain motivation and be happy while doing their work. Strategies one would use to develop nurse practitioner skills include joining professional and community organizations and constantly expanding knowledge. Solutions and ideas from extensive knowledge are the keys to innovation, critical thinking, and visions of a great leader.
Conclusion
From the paper, it is clear that the New Jersey state has committed to protecting its people from harm that may arise as a result of unqualified nurses. Cases of individuals losing their lives as wrong care are provided, or infants are dying as soon as they are born, very few in the state. The quality of life of people has improved and consequently, expectancy. There are rules and regulations that dictate how someone obtains licensure to practice nursing. An individual from a different state wishes to work as a nurse practitioner in New Jersey, and the paper shows that they have to register with the state’s nursing board.
References
Altmiller, G., & Hopkins-Pepe, L. (2019). Why quality and Safety education for nurses (QSEN) matters in practice. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 50(5), 199-200.
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.
Duff, E. (2019). A structural equation model of empowerment factors affecting nurse practitioners’ competence. Nurse Education in Practice, 38, 145-152.
Grecu, A. M., & Spector, L. C. (2019). Nurse practitioners’ independent prescriptive authority and opioids abuse. Health economics, 28(10), 1220-1225.
Ingwell-Spolan, C. (2018). Chief nursing officers’ views on meeting the needs of the professional nurse: how this can affect patient outcomes. In Healthcare (Vol. 6, No. 2, p. 56). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.
Kowalski, M. O., Basile, C., Bersick, E., Cole, D. A., McClure, D. E., & Weaver, S. H. (2020). What do nurses need to practice effectively in the hospital environment? An integrative review with implications for nurse leaders. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, 17(1), 60-70.
Pontieri-Lewis, V. (2020). Adapting WOC nursing practice to the COVID-19 pandemic: A view from here. Journal of Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing. 10.1097/WON.0000000000000667