Nursing Advanced Practice Role -. Florida's Certified registered nurse anesthetists - Research Paper Example

Currently there are more than 3,400 CRNAs in the state of Florida and they are the only nurses who are credentialed to provide anesthesia services (Florida Coalition of Advanced Practice Nurses, 2008). In most rural hospitals of Florida, the CRNAs are the sole anesthesia providers. Nationally, the CRNAs are known to deliver 30 million anesthetics each year (American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, 2008). Significant Contributions of CRNAs: The CRNAs have made incredible contributions to nursing and nursing practice.

The CRNA’s education and practice has evolved in recent years to fill the growing need surgeons had for anesthetists. Unlike the regular registered nurses, CRNAs function with a high degree of autonomy. The CRNAs provide anesthetic services in surgical, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. As pioneers in the field of anesthesia, the CRNAs are committed to ensure high standards, based on evidence based practices (Northam, 2009). They provide high quality services, which are comparable to those provided by their physician counterparts (Florida Coalition of Advanced Practice Nurses, 2008).

The CRNAs have made significant contributions in rural healthcare. . Barriers Confronted: External Barriers: 1. HMOs, Medicaid and many insurance plans do not provide direct payment for the services of ARNPs as they do for their physician counterparts. In fact they do not even contract with the ARNPs directly (Florida Coalition of Advanced Practice Nurses, 2008). 2. ARNPs are denied medical staff privileges in many hospitals and other medical care facilities (Florida Coalition of Advanced Practice Nurses, 2008). 3. When compared to their physician counterparts, ARNPs are subject to strict malpractice insurance requirements (Phillips, 2005). 4. The ARNPs in Florida can prescribe a wide range of medications.

However, unlike the ARNPs in other states, the ARNPs in Florida are not permitted to prescribe controlled substances (Phillips, 2005). Internal Barriers: 1. In the state of Florida, CRNAs are required to work under direct supervision of a medical physician, an osteopathic physician or a dentist (Florida Coalition of Advanced Practice Nurses, 2008). They are required to work within the framework of the protocols which identify the medical acts that can be performed and the conditions under which they can be performed.

This greatly limits their ability to function independently. 2. APNs generally have inadequate administrative support and are pressed for time as they try to balance clinical and non-clinical activities (Irvine et al, 2000). This is frequently reported as a major barrier to participating in education, research and leadership activities (Sidani et al., 2000). Benefits to nursing and constituents: The increasing demand for APNs has boosted student enrollment into entry-level baccalaureate programs in nursing by 5.

7% (AACN, 2011). The scope