Alaska: Regulations Changes Affect NPs

Posted on: November 25, 2009

View Comments (0)Print ArticleEmail Article

Facebook reddit Newsvine Del.icio.us Digg

Yahoo! Buzz LinkedIn StumbleUpon Google Bookmarks Mixx

In Alaska, where nurse practitioners have had independent practice authority since 1983, the Board of Nursing (BON) has published proposed regulation changes that will affect NPs in the state. Many of the proposed regulation changes revolve around continuing competency - specifically for pharmacology requirements and relicensure.

"There are concerns that some of the proposed changes are ambiguous in their interpretation and lack evidence-based foundations that could create unintended consequences," says Barb Berner, NP, chairwoman of the legislative committee for the Alaska Nurse Practitioner Association.

In addition, the BON has proposed changes to allow NPs to oversee intramuscular injections by certified medical assistants (CMAs) in Alaska. The BON has responded to concerns by NPs about the inability to supervise CMAs under current regulations. However, the new regulations include a specific formulary that could constrain NPs' abilities to provide oversight of IM medications. The new regulations also set forth educational criteria for CMAs who give injections and require NPs to verify this education. This proposed regulation has created confusion for NPs because CMAs are not under the regulatory authority of the BON.

The Alaska Nurse Practitioner Association has requested that the BON establish an ad hoc NP advisory committee, as recommended by the LACE model regulations put forth by the APRN Consensus Work Group and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing APRN Committee. The BON has discussed this request, but had not made a decision as of press time in November.

"We hope that the BON will reconsider these proposed changes and allow more discussion with input from NPs in Alaska, through the use of this proposed advisory committee, about the best ways to accomplish the objectives of the proposed changes," Berner said.

News You Can Use Archives

Email: *

Email, first name, comment and security code are required fields; all other fields are optional. With the exception of email, any information you provide will be displayed with your comment.

First *

Last

Name:

	Title	Field	Facility
Work:

City

State

Location:

Comments: *

To prevent comment spam, please type the code you see below into the code field before submitting your comment. If you cannot read the numbers in the below image, reload the page to generate a new one.

	Enter the security code below: *