NCSBN Board of Directors Endorses Institute of Medicine Future of Nursing Report


CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - January 20, 2011) - The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN®) (www.ncsbn.org) Board of Directors (BOD) endorsed the Institute of Medicine's (IOM)"The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health" report at their December 2010 meeting.

The BOD agreed that the IOM's report proposal that "...regulatory and institutional obstacles -- including limits on nurses' scope of practice -- should be removed so that the health system can reap the full benefit of nurses' training, skills, and knowledge in patient care," is consistent with the mission of NCSBN and previous position statements.

Additionally, the recommendation that "Nurses should be fully engaged with other health professionals and assume leadership roles in redesigning care in the United States" was cited by the BOD as supportive of the many initiatives that NCSBN is currently implementing.

The report also focuses attention on the "...scope of practice barriers that hinder nurses from practicing to the full extent of their education and training" especially as it relates to advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs). The report further notes that the "health care system needs to tap the capabilities of APRNs to meet the increased demand for primary care." This is of paramount concern to NCSBN as it launches a campaign to promote adoption of the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation

"The NCSBN BOD takes particular interest in the IOM's acknowledgment of the APRN consensus model in terms of achieving uniformity throughout the country," comments NCSBN President Myra A. Broadway, JD, MS, RN, executive director, Maine State Board of Nursing. "This model, developed through a collaborative process with participation of regulators, APRN certifiers, national nursing program accreditors and representatives of many APRN professional organizations, advances that the education, accreditation, certification and licensure of APRNs needs to be consistent from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in order to continue to assure patient safety while expanding access to care."

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) is a not-for-profit organization whose members include the boards of nursing in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and four U.S. territories -- American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands. There are also seven associate members.

Mission: NCSBN provides education, service and research through collaborative leadership to promote regulatory excellence for patient safety and public protection.

The statements and opinions expressed are those of NCSBN and not the individual member state or territorial boards of nursing.

National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc.
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Chicago, IL 60601-4277

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