A nurse practitioner group is pushing for greater responsibility for NPs to meet national health care needs.
The Washington Post reports that the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners has launched a campaign to "try to raise the profile of the country’s 155,000 nurse practitioners. The campaign looks to exploit what many say is a looming doctor shortage."
This Awareness campaign offers a fact sheet, press relations, and an invitation to NPs to do their own outreach, e.g., "Contact local civic groups such as Rotary Clubs, Chambers of Commerce, PTAs, girls and boys clubs, etc and volunteer to make a presentation on health care in general and NPs in particular."
The AANP is going to hit 'em high and hit 'em low, with "state-level lobbying efforts, looking to pass bills that will expand the range of medical procedures that their membership can perform" supplementing the campaign, says the Post.
It seems to be having an effect as papers start to run stories like "Nurse practitioners tackling more 'doctor' tasks."
We've noted the rise of NPPs in this age of perceived care shortfalls. Recently HHS issued a Final Rule allowing hospitals to designate NPPs as medical staff with all rights thereunto. The AANP knows which way the wind is blowing. You're be seeing more of this sort of thing in the years to come.