News
BOARD OF NURSING ADVANCED PRACTICE COMMITTEE UPDATE
Submitted by Laurie Paul, RN
ARNP ARE YOU SIGNING YOUR TITLE PROPERLY?
At the August meeting of the Oklahoma State Board of Nursing Advanced Practice Committee meeting we reviewed how all Advanced Practice Nurses should (by law) be signing their names. In any situation where you are in direct contact with a patient in any capacity you must use your legal name, RN, and then your Advanced Practice Specialty (ARNP; CNM; CNS or CRNA). For example, I sign my name
Laurie Paul, RN, ARNP.
Both the RN and the ARNP, in my case, are part of the law. It is optional to add your certification (FNP-C; PNP-C) but we worked so hard to earn that certification, we should proudly use it.
BUYING IN BULK
It was also discussed that no Advanced Practice Nurses are allowed to purchase any medications, prescription or OTC, in bulk. What that means is that you may not stock your clinic with any medications whether they are in multi-dose vials or individual doses (e.g. Tetanus or other vaccines; Depo-Provera; Antibiotics or Vitamins). This is written in both the Nurse Practice Act and in the Pharmacy Practice Act and the Board of Nursing gets calls from pharmacies about this quite frequently. Just know that only a Physician can purchase in bulk and dispense from a bulk container (a physician must be registered with their board to dispense). Advanced practice nurses with prescriptive authority may only dispense pharmaceutical samples provided by the drug companies.
SPEAKING OF PRESCRIPTIONS
To stay in compliance with the law, the following information must be printed on every prescription.
Your name and your supervising physician’s name;
Date;
Patient Name;
RX, (what you want them to take);
Sig, (how you want them to take it);
Disp, (the quantity you want them to have);
Refills, (if you want them to have refills or not).
If the prescription is for a schedule III drug you must include your DEA number but it is not advised to have it printed on your prescription pad as that only tempts those that might try to obtain a prescription illegally.
Remember: Our formulary does not include any schedule II drugs but as of 7-1-08 we can write for 30 days of a schedule III drug with no refills. No more 7-day rule! You can thank the ONP, the Board of Nursing, the Formulary Committee for the Board of Nursing, the Advanced Practice Committee for the Board of Nursing and the other Advanced Practice groups in Oklahoma for this.
If you have any issues that you would like discussed at the Advanced Practice Committee at the Board of Nursing, we will meet again in February. I need this information ASAP so I can get it on the agenda.
You can contact me at: laurie.paul@communityhealthconnection.org
I look forward to seeing you at the ONP Fall Conference!
Nurse Practitioner Healthcare Foundation Announces Scholarships & Awards Program
Bellevue, WA, November 21, 2007 – The Nurse Practitioner Healthcare Foundation today announced its 2007-2008 Student Scholarships & Awards Program. This program includes 5 scholarships and 3 awards for nurse practitioners currently enrolled in an accredited master’s or doctoral degree program.
Applications are available on the NPHF website (www.nphealthcarefoundation.org). Scholarships and awards are available for the 2007-2008 academic year in the following areas:
1. NPHF/Procter & Gamble Endowed Scholarship in Service - awarded to an NP student who has made a significant positive leadership contribution on campus, in the community, or in patient care while in the pursuit of an advanced degree.
One scholarship will be awarded. Amount of Award: $1,000
(Endowed scholarship through an educational grant from Procter & Gamble)
2. NPHF/Procter & Gamble Endowed Scholarship in Gastroenterology - awarded to an NP student whose clinical and/or research interests are in the field of gastroenterology.
One scholarship will be awarded. Amount of Award: $1,000
(Endowed scholarship through an educational grant from Procter & Gamble)
3. NPHF Diversity Scholarships - targeted to enhancing the racial and ethnic diversity of the NP workforce and assisting minority students in fulfilling their professional education goals. These scholarships will be awarded to African American, Hispanic, or Native American students who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the nursing profession. Scholarships will be awarded based on academic excellence, and a demonstrated commitment of service to the student’s minority community.
Three (3) scholarships will be awarded. Amount of Each Award: $5,000
(Supported through an educational grant from AstraZeneca)
4. Health Through Immunizations Awards - three (3) awards will be given to NPs whose research or educational project is in the area of immunizations. Each recipient will receive an initial award of $2,500. Upon completion of the project , an additional $1,000 will be awarded to each recipient to support project dissemination (eg, travel expenses for presenting at a national meeting; editing a paper for publication; preparing a poster, etc.). Project must be completed within 2 years. The target audience may be patients, the general public, or healthcare professionals.
Three (3) awards will be made. Amount of each award: $3,500
(Supported through an educational grant from Sanofi Pasteur)
Information about eligibility criteria, deadlines, and applications is available on the Programs and Projects page of the NPHF website at www.nphealthcarefoundation.org.
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