Describing nurse practitioner (NP) practice in the state of Ohio:
NPs play a crucial role in the future of America’s complex health care system. A NP is a nurse who has completed an accredited master's-prepared program
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Describing nurse practitioner (NP) practice in the state of Ohio:
NPs play a crucial role in the future of America’s complex health care system. A NP is a nurse who has completed an accredited master's-prepared program that is directly related to the clinical aspect of patient care (DeNisco & Barker, 2015). The increasing need for high-quality, cost- effective health care has provoked the increased demand for NPs. The APRN Joint Dialogue Group (2008) defines an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) or NP as a nurse who assumes the “responsibility and accountability for health promotion and the assessment, diagnosis, and management of patient problems, which includes the use and prescription of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions” (p. 7). The Ohio Board of Nursing (OBN) authorizes and regulates the scope of practice for NPs. According to the Ohio Revised Code, § 4723.41 (2018), prior to obtaining licensure to practice as a NP in the state of Ohio an applicant must adhere to the following: be a registered nurse, provide documents showing that the applicant has earned a master’s or doctoral degree with a major in a nursing specialty that makes the applicant eligible to take the certification exam, and provide the necessary documents to the board showing the successful passing of the certification exam. The Ohio Revised Code, § 4723.43 (2018) sets forth the legislative scope of practice for the NP, which states that a NP is permitted to practice only in collaboration with physicians or podiatrists. With physician or podiatrist oversight, NPs are authorized to deliver preventive, primary and acute care services, and evaluate and promote wellness that is consistent with one’s education and certification. Prior to April 6, 2017 the OBN authorized prescriptive authority, which was granted separately from the certificate of authority to practice as a NP. Due to the recent passing of Ohio House Bill 216, it eliminated the certificate of authority and the certificate to prescribe and replaced them with an APRN license that designates APRNs as NPs (OBN, 2018).
Ohio state laws related to NP prescribing:
One of the requirements for licensure as a NP is 45 contact hours of advanced pharmacology education within the last five years (OBN, 2018). Additionally, the education must include fiscal/ethical implications of prescribing, state and federal laws related to prescribing, instruction specific to schedule II-controlled substances that includes pain management therapies, fiscal/ethical implications, state and federal laws about schedule II-controlled substances, prevention of abuse, and diversion of schedule II-controlled substances (OBN, 2018). As mentioned previously, the Ohio House Bill 216 eliminated the certificate to prescribe, along with the initial externship certificate that required supervision of the NPs prescribing practices (OBN,
2018). The new licenses for NPs include the authority to prescribe or personally supply most drugs and therapeutic devices. The formulary is to be exclusionary, including only those drugs or devices that the NP is not authorized to prescribe or supply (OBN, 2018). NPs are allowed to prescribe a schedule II-controlled substance only under certain conditions or from specified locations. These conditions include all of the following: the patient has a terminal condition, the collaborating physician initially prescribed the substance for the patient, and the prescription is for an amount that does not exceed that necessary for the patient’s use in a single, 72-hour period (OBN, 2018). Any physician, rather than only the NPs collaborating physician, can issue the patient’s initial prescription. The locations from which a NP may prescribe a schedule II- controlled substance include hospitals, nursing homes, residential care facilities, hospice care programs, ambulatory surgical facilities, and freestanding birthing centers (OBN, 2018). A NP may not prescribe a schedule II-controlled substance from a convenience care clinic (OBN, 2018).
How many continuing education hours are required for the state of Ohio
In the state of Ohio, for the first period of renewal immediately following initial licensure, no contact hours of continuing education (CE) is required. In addition, it maintains that certain CE credits earned by an APRN to maintain certification by a national certifying organization may count as credit for the renewal of both a RN and APRN license (OBN, 2018). For the second period of renewal, NPs are required to complete 24 hours of CE and at least 12 of those hours must include 12 hours of CE in advanced pharmacology (OBN, 2018). Starting November 1, 2019, NPs must complete 24 hours of CE in each renewal period, and those 24 hours must include 12 hours of CE in advanced pharmacology. The 24 hours of CE required to renew each APRN license are in addition to the 24 hours of CE required to renew the RN license (OBN, 2018).
Describing the importance of knowing the specific laws in the state of Ohio pertaining to NP’s prescribing medications:
As future NPs in an ever-changing health care system, it is imperative to become familiar with specific state laws and regulations that govern our scope of practice and prescribing practices as APRNs. It is important to know these laws in order to be able to prescribe medications appropriately and legally for our patients. The opioid epidemic continues to be a problem in my state of Ohio. As future primary care providers, we need to be aware of the laws and regulations to prevent any further harm to our patients and fellow residents within our communities.
References
APRN Joint Dialogue Group Report. (2008). Consensus model for APRN regulation: Licensure, accreditation, certification, and education. Retrieved from https://ncsbn.org/Consensus_Model_for_APRN_Regulation_July_2008.pdf
DeNisco, S.M., & Barker, A. M. (2015). Advanced practice nursing: Essential knowledge for the profession (3rd ed.).
Ohio Board of Nursing. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.nursing.ohio.gov/
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