DNP and Retail Health Discussed in Article

PhysiciansNews.com published an article titled "Growing Role of Nurse Practitioners" last week, which addressed the doctorate of nursing practice and retail health clinics, two "hot buttons" that many nurse practitioners have been concerned about recently.

The article explains the new requirement of a DNP degree as entry to practice by the year 2015, and describes the certification developed by Mary O. Mundinger and others at the Council for for the Advancement of Comprehensive Care (see the post about my interview with Dr. Mundinger).

The article's author, Christopher Guadagnino, stresses that these developments are not an indication that NPs want to start a turf war. Rather, they are simply a reflection of the expansion of curriculum that already exists in master's programs for NPs. He states that current curriculum has grown "to a level that constitute a doctoral degree in most other professions."

The article also notes that the importance of the issues of autonomy and collaboration will be eclipsed by the need for care. "The U.S. will need 40 percent more primary care physicians by 2020, according to ACP and AAFP projections." The supply of NPs cannot meet its demand, either. Only 6,000 NPs graduate yearly, according to the article, and those numbers will not nearly make up for the projected primary care shortage.

DNP competencies are listed in the article, with a caveat noted by Polly Bednash, executive director of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing: "We are not reconceptualizing the role of advanced practice nurses. ... It is clear that changing demands of practice require taking more coursework to stay safe and current."

A phyisican interviewed for the article says NPs "don't come close to the level of training" of physicians, and that "there has to be an understanding of that within the nursing profession."

Physician groups are working to enact or maintain legislation that keeps NPs from providing care to the best of their ability, such as collaborative practice laws and regulations on retail health clinics. Removing those barriers will provide more access to care, especially because of the rapid growth of the retail health industry. Take Care Health, for example, currently operates 168 clinics across the country, all staffed by NPs who are able to provide care and refer patients to other providers as necessary.