AMA Proposes Resolutions Affecting NPs, DNPs
Several state delegations of the American Medical Association have proposed resolutions that would limit NP education and NP practice. The AMA House of Delegates will gather to consider these resolutions at its annual meeting, which will take place this week from June 14 to 18.
Three resolutions could be potentially damaging to NPs. Resolution 214, "Doctor of Nursing Practice," would require physician supervision for DNPs. Resolution 303, "Protection of the Titles 'Doctor,' 'Resident' and 'Residency,'" would limit the use of these terms to physicians, dentists and podiatrists. Resolution 716, "AMA Model Agreement with Advanced Practice Nurse Clinicians, Nurse Practitioners and/or Clinical Nurse Specialists," recommends that collaborative agreements address "quality of care, continuity of care, and scope of practice" of NPs. These resolutions are currently only statements of proposed policy, but they could set the stage for future legislative action to be taken by state medical associations and the AMA.
All of these resolutions can be found on AMA's Web site, on the Reports and Resolutions page.
Representatives from the American Nurses Association will be attending the AMA meeting to provide comments, and they have already submitted letters to the AMA in response to the resolutions. In reponse to Resolution 214, the ANA states the following:
Our comments are directed toward the last statement in Resolution 214 which proposes to require physician supervision of DNPs’ practice. State law, state boards of nursing, and the nursing profession itself are the only appropriate entities to regulate the practice of nursing. It is not appropriate for the AMA or the medical profession to regulate the practice of nursing, any more than it would be appropriate for the nursing profession to attempt to regulate physicians and the practice of medicine. The medical profession is not the "starting place" from which all other healthcare professions must seek authorization to practice. This diminishes the unique contribution and role of nurses and other healthcare providers, and assumes a level of knowledge of nursing care, education and practice that is simply not the province of the medical profession.
And, in response to Resolution 303, the ANA says, "Those who have earned a doctorate degree may be called a 'doctor.' There is no legitimate reason to exclude nurses from this practice."
Eileen Shannon Carlson, associate director of government affairs for the ANA, told ADVANCE that groups including the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists have responded to these resolutions, and that four nursing groups, including the ANA, have been granted observor status for the AMA meeting.
Interested groups can send responses to these resolutions by e-mail to roger.brown@ama-assn.org by close of business on Wednesday, June 11.