Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners’ Post

According to an opinion piece published online in JAMA Internal Medicine, as post-pandemic trends solidify, nurses and physicians need to partner now to address the growing hospital nursing workforce crisis. This includes burnout and working conditions, which have been consistent challenges. “Although nursing workforce shortages have persisted for decades, since 2020 the U.S. has witnessed unprecedented disruptions, particularly in acute care settings. Nurse vacancy rates in hospitals are at an all-time high and may soon worsen,” Deena Kelly Costa, PhD, RN, of Yale and colleagues write. “Without different engagement strategies and partnerships, history will repeat itself as fiscal pressures resurface across U.S. health systems,” the authors write. “Hierarchies and power imbalances in healthcare contribute to historic inattention to nurse-led calls to action. Dismantling these imbalances requires collaboration across health professions so that all voices can be heard.”

Take a read of Steven Lewis's column: The health care fix too obvious to implement. The solution to Canada's primary care access gap is for communities to grow their own roster of nurse practitioners (NPs). #nursepractitioner #primarycare

Medical directors have seen their responsibilities explode as nursing homes take on more complex patients and regulations require more oversight, planning and communication. https://lnkd.in/eAXpTbqj Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association (PALTmed) Rajeev Kumar Marquis Health Consulting Services #longtermcare #skillednursing #nursinghomes

In most of the country, nurse practitioners are able to deliver medical services for which they are licensed as independent providers. But in states like Pennsylvania, outdated and restrictive laws require NPs to be supervised by — and surrender part of their incomes to — physicians in order to do the work they've been trained and certified to do. To measure the effect these laws have on patients, we can look at nearby states that have already passed full practice authority legislation. Researchers found that counties in restrictive practice states bordering full practice authority states experienced a 20% decline in the number of NPs. Neighboring New York, Maryland, and Delaware already offer NPs full practice authority. It's clear that in order to keep talented NPs caring for patients here in Pennsylvania, we need to make PA an attractive state for nurses and NPs to work. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/eK8qgz9J #NursePractitioners #CareForPA #FullPracticeAuthority #AccessToCare #HealthcareAccess

In 2022, NY passed legislation granting full practice authority to NPs. And the results have been overwhelmingly positive. Nurse practitioners are happy to see their skills being applied in rich and meaningful ways, and doctors are happy for relief from the pressures of relentless demand. Healthcare providers can now see more patients, with shorter wait times for an appointment. This increases patient satisfaction and improves outcomes through faster diagnosis and treatment.  It's clear that communities benefit from the timely availability of high-quality care, and it's time for Pennsylvania to follow suit and pass full practice authority for NPs! #NursePractitioners #AdvancedPracticeProviders #FullPracticeAuthority #CareForPA #HealthcareAccess #QualityHealthCare

Here we have a prime example of a report that highlights the problems associated with the oversight of resident care in LTC homes. It involves Medical Directors. As noted Medical Directors "ensure that every resident receives care that provides the best possible physical, mental and psychosocial wellbeing". Doctors are best equipped to carry out this mandate because of their training and experience. The Ontario Government | Gouvernement de l’Ontario must reconsider its policy of allowing de-skilled caregivers, like Nurse Practitioners (NPs), to take on this role. It is clear that NPs have an important and significant role to play in caring for LTC residents, but not as Medical Directors. This is no different than pharmacists providing clinical care, even on so-called minor issues. Again, I ask Doug Ford, why he thinks Doctors are not necessary in #healthcare or #LTC. Why does he keep trying to de-skill them out of existence? Is he sending the message that Doctors are no longer necessary? Combining more complex care with de-skilling is, and will be, a disaster. Why does the Canadian Medical Association, under the Leadership of Alex Munter (newly minted CEO) & Joss Reimer (President) not advocate against this change, instead of worrying about the impact of Doctors writing notes. Doug Ford Sylvia Jones Marit Stiles Bonnie Crombie, MBA, ICD.D Adil Shamji National Institute on Aging (NIA) Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Kathleen Ross Marcel Saulnier Nick Farinaccio John Feeley Ontario Health Coalition Danielle Martin Anthony Dale Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, MPP Dominik Nowak, MD Lisa Levin Jane Meadus Avis Favaro Lauren Pelley Nicole Ireland Andre Picard Tessie Sanci Nick Tsergas Christine Birak Peter Mazereeuw Kenyon Wallace Linda McQuaig Kristy Kirkup Donna Duncan Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) Catherine MacNeil Ted Ball Dr. Merrilee Fullerton Vivian Stamatopoulos, PhD

BC will be making a provincial registry for those looking for a family doctor or nurse practitioner. They will help organize matching family doctors or NPs with space in their practices with people who don't have a primary care doctor/practitioner. I honestly think that this is a fantastic plan that is going to put a huge dent in the primary care crisis. Organisation reduces significant amounts of wasted effort and opportunity. Currently there is a "Chaos system" (my words). Each office maintains a waitlist - or not - and then calls people when there is open space. More often than not, those spaces are just filled by whoever calls in next after a practice opens up for more patients. Patients are discouraged from calling repeatedly, but if they don't, they need to be lucky with the magical moment that their phone call aligns with a doctor accepting patients. With our clinic waitlists, it takes my staff so much time to collect information from prospective patients, document it, call them back for meet and greets and set them up at the clinic. This new system will save my staff so much time (= money and overhead) and allow us to focus on the medicine. #HealthcareInnovation #PrimaryCare #FamilyMedicine #NursePractitioners #HealthcareSystem #PatientCare #MedicalPracticeManagement #HealthPolicy #BCHealth #EfficiencyInHealthcare

Tej Kokroo, MD, medical director at Oxford Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Langhorne, PA, said those who do the job well embed themselves with frontline staff, providing them  “empathy-driven training with cultural sensitivity, and effective communication.” He also wants more facilities to assign consistent staffing and offer more feedback (for staff, families and healthcare partners) and added educational opportunities. “Providing brief, targeted training sessions during shifts or incentivizing certifications to cover topics like infection control, dementia care and fall prevention is critical,” he said.

Indiana University researchers, Susan Hickman and Kathleen Unroe, have developed an online training for advance care planning to honor patient's wishes. Particularly in nursing home settings, it is crucial to facilitate these important conversations and discuss a patient's treatment preferences. Learn more about the training here: https://lnkd.in/gSuCV8DU #research #innovation #IUICO #invention #technology #training #advancecareplanning