The goals of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN's) is to increase access to high quality healthcare for all Oklahomans. Currently, HB1013 is making its way through the legislative process. With passage of this bill, Nurse Practitioners (NP's) would obtain Full Practice Authority (FPA). FPA will not change the scope of practice of APRN's. Instead, it will allow NP's to continue to provide care to their patients, without having to pay physicians thousands of dollars for their signature once every 2 years. These physicians usually don't step foot into the NP's clinic, review charts, or discuss patient care. They are only required to be available by phone for questions/issues. There are now 22 states + Washington D.C. that allow APRN's to have full practice authority. Most of these states rank in the top 25 for overall healthcare, while Oklahoma is ranked in the bottom three states for overall healthcare. APRN's want to increase community awareness about who we are and what kind of care we provide.
