The AMA is standing firm against growing calls for nurses to play a larger role in patient care. A recent report by the Institute of Medicine in conjunction with the non-profit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) recommends that nurses make full use of their training and scopes of practice, in the context of a greater influx of patients thanks to the health reform law.
Various provisions of the law, such as a measure that forces insurance companies to provide coverage to people with preexisting conditions, are expected to increase the demand for healthcare services. Nurses, as the largest segment of the healthcare work force, can help meet the demand as the reform law's provisions gradually take effect between now and 2014, the report says.
The AMA counters by arguing the nurses just don't have the same capabilities of doctors. "Nurses are critical to the healthcare team, but there is no substitute for education and training," said AMA Board Member Rebecca Patchin in a prepared statement.
However, it must be pointed out that physicians stand to lose revenue if all nurses began practicing to the hilt of their local scope-of-practice laws. Our earlier coverage of this turf battle highlights the argument made by nurses and doctors, and the plight of physician practices who employ numerous nurses that are caught inbetween.