Lifting restrictions on APRNs can help avert a health care crisis in America.

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

Fortunately, there’s a solution to help fill the gaps in our health care system: Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs). However, in many states outdated laws are holding APRNs back, not allowing them to practice to the full extent of their education and training. They urgently need your support.

 

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APRN Status Nationwide

Take Action Now: Nursing America Campaign States
No Action Needed: Supportive of APRNs

Currently APRNs are working on legislative initiatives in several states. Take action in these states now.

If you live in a different state, please support APRNs by submitting a testimonial below.

Testimonials from Across the Country

"I trust my APRN with my life. They fill needs in a small town!"
- Laurie Spillman
"I am proud to be able to provide high quality care to my patients using the full educational scope of my practice."
- Robin Arends, DNP, CNP, FNP-BC, FAANP
"I have fifteen years of nursing experience, plus my BSN. I am now working on my DNP/PhD, so I can become an APRN. I will most likely leave TN when I am done for a state where APRNs have full practice."
- A.R. Matthaei

What is an APRN?

What is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse?

A vital part of the health care system, APRNs are educated with a master’s degree or higher and have hundreds of hours of hands-on clinical experience. 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.

How are APRNs being held back?

To date, APRNs have full practice authority in nearly half of the states and jurisdictions in the U.S., meaning that they can provide care to the full extent of their education—from diagnosing and treating patients to delivering babies, expertly managing life-saving respiratory devices and more. In the rest of the country, APRNs are required by law to be in a contract with a physician to perform these very same tasks, which creates unnecessary barriers to care for patients in those states.

Four Roles, Four Ways to Care for You:

  • Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists – administer anesthesia and monitor patients post-anesthesia

  • Certified Nurse Midwives – specialize in childbirth and women’s reproductive health

  • Certified Nurse Practitioners – diagnose and treat primary or acute health conditions

  • Clinical Nurse Specialists – work in specialty settings and provide diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing patient management

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Guest view: Mississippi can make health care headlines – in a good way

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As nurse practitioners try to shake free of doctors, Kansas physicians resist

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