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To the editor:
As a senior Resident Registered Nurse Anesthetist at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, I am compelled to advocate for the passage of an APRN bill in North Carolina (House Bill 514 and Senate Bill 537).
This legislation is essential to improving our state’s healthcare system by allowing Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) to practice to their full authority. APRNs include Nurse Practitioners, Midwives, Clinical Nurse Specialists, and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). Implementation of APRNs practicing to their full extent in our community would enhance patient’s timely access to deserved care.
Currently, there are tight restrictions on APRN’s full authority practice despite the rigorous education and training. These restrictions prevent efficient healthcare delivery and worsen provider shortages in communities where healthcare workforce is already scarce.
Expanding APRNs practice would make North Carolina one of 27 other states that have embraced full practice authority for APRNs which would significantly improve healthcare accessibility and outcomes statewide.
There have been well-documented benefits arising from granting full practice authority to APRNs, CRNAs specifically. Research has shown that CRNAs provide safe, high-quality anesthesia care in a cost-effective manner. There are many rural parts of North Carolina in which physician anesthesiologists may not be available. In this setting, CRNAs serve as the sole anesthesia providers, ensuring that essential surgical and obstetric services remain operational. Current restrictions create a major barrier to patients receiving the care they deserve. The elimination of physician supervision would allow CRNAs to continue delivering care without bureaucratic limitations.
Immediately, patients would benefit from the passing of the APRN bill through improved access to high-quality care and reductions in healthcare costs.
Emily Walker
Advance