analysis & commentary Unleashing Nurse Practitioners’ Potential To Deliver Primary Care And Lead Teams
- 1Joanne M. Pohl (jpohl{at}umich.edu) is a professor and adult nurse practitioner at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, in Ann Arbor.
- 2Charlene Hanson is a professor emerita and a family nurse practitioner at the Georgia Southern University School of Nursing, in Statesboro, Georgia.
- 3Jamesetta A. Newland is a clinical associate professor and a family nurse practitioner at the New York University College of Nursing, in New York City.
- 4Linda Cronenwett is a professor and dean emerita at the School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- ↵*Corresponding author
Abstract
Highly skilled primary care is a hallmark of high-performing health care systems. We examine nurse practitioners’ role in delivering primary care and the effects of current restrictions on their ability to practice. By resolving differences between states’ individual scope-of-practice regulations, we can fully benefit from the skills of advanced-practice nurses in all fifty states. We recommend substantive changes in the way health care professionals in all disciplines are trained, and in their roles, so that patients can receive appropriate and cost-effective care from skilled and fully functional health care teams.
