Introduction
The various boards of nursing and nursing associations are geared at regulating and enlightening the nursing profession across the United States to enhance the achievement of the anticipated healthcare goals and objectives. Regulations guide the healthcare system in each state to ensure that the public’s well-being and quality of life are protected. The healthcare regulations make sure that nurses maintain ethical practices to avoid unnecessary penalties like job loss and lawsuits.
Additionally, the laws coerce healthcare organizations to focus on safeguarding patients to inspire them to acquire the right services to overcome their health conditions. Patients always require safe and quality care that matches their needs and preferences to attain positive outcomes and boost satisfaction. As a result, state boards of nursing and nursing associations are crucial in maintaining smooth healthcare operations while ensuring that healthcare professionals have the right competencies and experience (Milstead & Short, 2017).
The regulations in each state further generate tremendous impacts to the cost and access to healthcare following the high focus on delivering patient-centered care. The paper concentrates on comparing nursing boards and associations and the impacts of state regulations on nurse’s role and healthcare access, cost, and delivery.
Differences between a Board of Nursing (BON) and a Professional Nurse Association
Numerous differences exist between a board of nursing (BON) and a professional nurse association. The BON acts as a state agency that aims to safeguard and uphold the well-being and health of the public to attain the projected health goals and does not require members to make payments. On the other hand, a professional nurse association acts as a private entity that allows individuals to make subscriptions to enjoy numerous benefits. BON engages in providing the proper disciplinary action for nurses that infringe regulations and supervises the process of applying, issuing, and renewing nurses’ licenses (Milstead & Short, 2017). The licenses provided by the board allow the nurses to enjoy their titles like APRNS and RNs. Conversely, professional nurse associations do not provide licenses and disciplinary actions to nurses.
Additionally, BON focuses on ensuring that only licensed and competent nurses operate within the healthcare facilities to encourage the provision of safe and quality care. This helps in reducing needless complaints and ensuring that patients obtain the correct care services. On the other hand, professional nurse associations concentrate on developing and empowering nurses to match the workplace demands. The nurses are empowered through continuous research, education, and training conferences to offer quality services (Schoon, Porta & Schaffer, 2018). Lastly, the board maintains nursing standards to compel nurses to display the correct behaviors. Conversely, professional nurse association allows nurses to cope with and introduce changes to the nursing practice to support innovation.
The Board for My Specific Region/Area, Board Members and Becoming a Board Member
California happens to be my state and highly focuses on maintaining good health standards to increase the population’s life expectancy and quality of life. As a result, the California Board of Nursing concentrates on defending the safety and health of the population by encouraging the use of competent and registered nurses to deliver quality services. The state’s board oversees the discipline, licensure, and education of nurses to boost their performance, behavior, and experience.
California Board of Nursing consists of nine members that help in making policies to guide nurses and healthcare organizations. Five of the board members are registered nurses, while four of the members are public representatives (California Board of Registered Nursing, 2021). The creation of a board that consists of nurses and public members helps create good policies that match the changing demands and preferences of the public. The members are required to work for four years with an opportunity for re-appointment, although individuals should not work for over two successive terms.
Appointments to the board are made by the Governor, Senate, and the speaker of the assembly. The governor appoints seven members, while the assembly speaker and senate each appoint one member. To become a board member, individuals are required to make applications that create an opportunity for the appointing committee to make approvals based on their qualifications (Milstead & Short, 2017). However, the qualifications for registered nurses and public members are different, but they all collaborate to make public-friendly policies.
State Regulation Related to General Nurse Scope of Practice and Influence on Nurse’s Role
Various regulations within California help in defining the general nurse scope of practice. One of the regulations is the California Nursing Practice Act (NPA) which provides the critical roles of the state’s board of nursing. The regulation compels the board to disclose the nurses’ responsibilities in their areas of work and the scope of practice. The legislation is situated within the state’s business and professions code commencing with section 2700 (California Board of Registered Nursing, 2021). The Act was also passed by the legislatures to assist the state in determining the composition and powers of the board. Additionally, NPA provides the titles and licenses that nurses should possess to enhance the seamless execution of tasks.
The regulation highly influences the role of nurses within healthcare facilities. The California NPA permits nurses to offer quality services that align with patients’ needs. The regulation guarantees that only nurses with the right qualifications, experience, and competencies to work within the healthcare facilities, thus leading to excellent services. Additionally, the regulation prevents unprofessional conduct within the nurses forcing them to focus on ethical practices. The rule makes sure that nurses who engage in unprofessional behaviors are disciplined, a situation that may lead to job loss (Schoon et al., 2018). As a result, the regulation coerces nurses to effectively complete their tasks to minimize errors and meet patients’ demands.
How the Regulation Influences Delivery, Cost, and Access to Healthcare
The Nursing Practice Act significantly affects the access, cost, and delivery of care to boost patient satisfaction. The regulations promote timely delivery of healthcare to avoid needless delays that negatively affect patients. Delays within the healthcare organizations yield deaths and increased complications making it hard for the patients to overcome their health conditions. The law emphasizes the removal of barriers that nurses incur when offering services to patients, such as limited competencies and low motivation levels, thus leading to the smooth and swift delivery of services (Schoon et al., 2018). The acquisition of competent and licensed nurses ensures that they fully understand their roles and responsibilities, hence improving their motivation levels, which yields quick provision of services.
The NPA reduces the costs that patients incur when undergoing treatment in healthcare organizations. The continued provision of services that align with the patients’ preferences and demands helps them quickly recover from their conditions. Consequently, this minimizes hospitalizations and readmissions, which play a major role in increasing the costs of treatment. The ability of the law to compel nurses to avoid unprofessional and unethical practices averts unnecessary lawsuits, thus assisting healthcare organizations in cutting their costs.
Additionally, NPA increases access to healthcare because it amplifies the availability of nurses in healthcare facilities (Neff et al., 2018). An increase in the number of qualified nurses helps in providing services to more patients to create a healthy population.
State Regulation Related to Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) and Influence on Nurse’s Role
APRNs usually hold a minimum of a Master’s degree to occupy the various positions that fit their qualifications. In most cases, APRNs entail primary care providers such as midwives, nurse practitioners, and clinical specialists. These types of nurses treat and diagnose ailments and provide public education hence creating the need to participate in continuous education. As a result, several regulations have been established to control how APRNs operate and ensure that they provide safe and quality care. One of the regulations associated with APRNs is the license requirement. License requirement regulation for APRNs determines the individuals that are eligible for entering the nursing profession (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2021). The regulation makes sure that all nurses within California pass the national accreditation test after accomplishing their studies to become approved APRNs.
The regulation creates reasonable influences on the roles of nurses. The license requirement increases the entry conditions to the nursing profession to acquire individuals with good educational attainment and skills. The acquisition of qualified nurses helps provide quality healthcare services and avoid the errors and jeopardies linked with low-skilled nurses. Secondly, the law assists in eradicating unwanted competition within nurses by encouraging them to focus on attaining positive patient outcomes (Schoon et al., 2018). Increased competition among nurses may yield poor performance leading to more patient complaints.
How the Regulation Influences Delivery, Cost, and Access to Healthcare
The license requirement on APRNs tends to create exceptional influences on healthcare to achieve the anticipated objectives. The law advances the delivery of healthcare following the increased use of qualified nurses. Qualified nurses can offer timely and excellent care that fits the demands of patients to reduce dissatisfaction and complaints. The timely delivery of quality healthcare allows patients to quickly recover from their conditions and prevent the occurrence of additional complications. The regulation acts as a crucial strategy to cut costs in healthcare organizations. Cost minimization aids in boosting the profitability levels of health facilities to outshine potential competitors in the market. Hiring qualified and competent nurses avert healthcare organizations from engaging in extra training and development programs that are highly expensive (Milstead & Short, 2017). A highly skilled workforce is capable of executing tasks with minimal training and guidance.
The law increases healthcare access through a qualified workforce and timeliness. Healthcare organizations are capable of acquiring an experienced and skilled workforce that understands patients’ needs. As a result, healthcare facilities can provide services to more patients to avoid needless delays and queues. Additionally, the regulation refines the ability to offer services when a patient need is identified. Healthcare services should be provided right away when a healthcare condition arises through competent nurses (Neff et al., 2018). Therefore, the legislation minimizes morbidity and mortality through timeliness to improve access to healthcare.
Conclusion
Boards of nursing and professional nurse associations are dissimilar, implying how they focus on attaining different objectives. Nursing boards are public and focus on improving the entire population’s health by making sure that licensed nurses are utilized within healthcare organizations. The boards provide licenses and disciplinary measures to nurses that violate regulations. On the other hand, nurse associations are private and compel nurses to make payments to obtain training and certification. Both organizations are crucial as they help in nurturing and developing nurse practitioners to match the workplace demands. Nursing boards consist of public members and qualified and licensed nurses to guarantee that the policies that are made favor the public to minimize resistance.
Nursing Practice Act perfectly relates to the general nurse scope of practice and reveals the powers of the nursing board. Conversely, license requirement is one of the regulations that is associated with APRNs and requires nurses to undergo national accreditation exams. However, all regulations are primarily geared at improving the roles of nurses while promoting timely delivery, reduced costs, and increased access to healthcare. This creates an opportunity for healthcare organizations to increase their competitive advantage to surpass the possible competitors. Consequently, all states across the country should consider developing more healthcare regulations to protect the health and welfare of the public.
References
California Board of Registered Nursing. (2021). Welcome to the board of registered nursing. State of California, Department of Consumer Affairs. Web.
Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2017). Chapter 4: Government response: Regulation. In Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed., pp. 57-84). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (2021). Licensure: About nursing licensure. NCSBN. Web.
Neff, D. F., Yoon, S. H., Steiner, R. L., Bejleri, I., Bumbach, M. D., Everhart, D., & Harman, J. S. (2018). The impact of nurse practitioner regulations on population access to care. Nursing Outlook, 66(4), 379-385. Web.
Schoon, P. M., Porta, C. M., & Schaffer, M. A. (2018). Population-based public health clinical manual: The Henry Street model for nurses (3rd ed.). Sigma.
