NursingAmerica

Now more than ever, America needs APRNs

Removing barriers for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) increases access to care and reduces challenges facing our health care system.

The cracks in America’s health care system are becoming more and more apparent: a growing shortage of health care providers; increasing waits for appointments; and a global pandemic that stretched health care workers beyond capacity. Although the entire country is feeling the weight of this, access to care in rural and underserved communities is especially strained.

How Can You Help?

Fortunately, there’s a solution: APRNs. However, outdated laws in many states hold APRNs back, preventing them from practicing to the full extent of their education and training. APRNs urgently need your support. The NursingAmerica Campaign is NCSBN's initiative to assist states in aligning their APRN regulation with the major elements of the APRN Consensus Model.

States That Need Your Help Now

Missouri and North Carolina currently have pending bills that will support increased access to safe, quality care by removing unnecessary barriers on all APRNs. Missouri and North Carolina residents can make a difference by letting lawmakers know you support these initiatives.

How are APRNs being held back?

To date, APRNs in less than half of the U.S. states and jurisdictions may practice independently, providing care to the full extent of their education and training. APRNs are educated and nationally certified in a role and population that enables them to provide care ranging from primary and maternal services to anesthesia care. In most of the country, APRNs are required by law to have a collaborative or supervisory agreement with a physician to perform these very same essential services, creating unnecessary barriers to care for patients in those states.

Stay Informed

What is an APRN?

APRNs can provide care in all types of practice settings including health care facilities, outpatient clinics, specialty practices, employee health programs, and in rural and urban areas with limited access to care. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that APRNs provide safe, high-quality care with equivalent outcomes to their physician counterparts.

Four Roles, Four Ways APRNs Care for You

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA)

Administer anesthesia and monitor patients post-anesthesia.

Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM)

Specialize in childbirth and women’s reproductive health.

Certified Nurse Practitioners (CNP)

Diagnose and treat primary or acute health conditions.

Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS)

Work in specialty settings and provide diagnosis, treatment and ongoing patient management.