Thread by @JaimeAPRN

A 🧵 ~
As #nursePractitioners we must take a stand and say enough is enough. #FPA will continue to ruin our profession in many ways. Here is one way: forcing unprepared NPs into FPA to be marketable in today’s job market. /1

Over the last 10-15 years Nurse Practitioner educational standards have become less rigorous. Online schools rely heavily on paper writing versus hands on clinical learning, yet the drive for FPA has continued at full speed. /2

Some will state that “their school was just fine, very rigorous, with high quality education that taught them to practice at the top of their education. What is the “top of our education” and why do we equate it with FPA? /3

What is it in the NP education that makes us eligible for independence after 2-3 years of didactic and then 500-1000 hours practicum versus a physicians med school and residency - even with transitional practice states we are not close to the hours physicians put in. /4

If we were truly ready for FPA there would not be numerous Facebook groups full of practice questions including how to read and interpret labs, what books to buy to understand diseases, patient examples that stump the practitioner. /5

The argument will be made, “we shouldn’t have to pay a physician so we can do our jobs,” - I ask you, why should a physician take on added liabilities & work for free?
Employers will feel the same way, why pay a physician and why employ NPs who do not have FPA? /6

So now we get to the crux of an issue with FPA - jobs. In a state with FPA or Transitional Practice it is cheaper to employ NPs, and large companies will use this to their advantage. Keeping only the minimum physicians on staff, not hiring non-FPA NP’s, /7

And running centers with clinicians who were not meant to be independently running centers without a physician on board. We see this model already with some companies - anything to save money without considering the cost to the patients. /8

In the end it’s not about “being allowed to practice at the top of my education” (which each state defines differently), it’s about the quality of care, and it’s about safe care. It’s about our patients who depend on us to always do the right thing. /9

Let’s hope we can look back in 10 years and say this was the point where we as a profession, took a stand - we said Enough is Enough, Patients Matter More than FPA. / end

#MedTwitter #NurseTwitter #NursePractitioner

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