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A chosen organization for this week’s discussion was the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN). Its mission, as stated on its website, is “AACN drives excellence in acute and critical care for nurses, patients, and families” (AACN, n.d.). In alignment with their vision, advocacy efforts in areas such as patient care standards, improving working conditions, professional development for critical care nurses, and legislative efforts. Through its AACN Legislation/Regulatory Action webpage, an overview of its partnership with the community and other organizations shows what issues they are passionate about and how nurses can engage in policy changes, encourage participation in action alerts, and support policies that enhance the nursing profession.

One chosen bill that has yet to be enacted as a law is the Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act. This bill aims to give advanced practice nurses (APNs) the full scope of practice. APNs with full practice authority “permit all nurse practitioners to evaluate patients; diagnose, order, and interpret diagnostic tests; and initiate and manage treatments, including prescribing medications and controlled substances under the exclusive licensure authority of the state board of nursing…” (American Association of Nurse Practitioners [AANP], 2024). Giving APNs the full scope of practice not only improves access to care, but in a remote geographic location like Guam, a lack of medical specialties can be seen in the number of patients that are flown out of the island to seek medical care – if they can afford it; having APNs be able to practice fully can mean the difference in patients being able to receive care that they can otherwise not receive due to the lack of available resources – financially or medically (Yang et al., 2021).

However, with Guam being designated as a medically underserved area (Health Resources and Services Administration [HRSA], n.d.) with an ongoing physician shortage (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine [NASEM], 2021), APNs have full practice authority with the ability to treat patients to their fullest extent based on their training and knowledge.

To further advance this cause, attached is a letter addressed to AACN, supporting their efforts to enact this bill into law.

References

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. (n.d.). About AACN. https://www.aacn.org/about-aacnLinks to an external site.

American Association of Nurse Practitioners. (2024). State practice environment. https://www.aanp.org/advocacy/state/state-practice-environmentLinks to an external site.

Health Resources and Services Administration. (n.d.). Guam. https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area/mua-findLinks to an external site.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2021). The future of nursing 2020-2030: Charting a path to achieve health equity. The National Academies Press.

Yang, B. K., Johantgen, M. E., Trinkoff, A. M., Idzik, S. R., Wince, J., & Tomlinson, C. (2021). State nurse practitioner practice regulations and U.S. health care delivery outcomes: A systematic review. Medical Care Research & Review, 78(3), 183–196. https://doi-org.proxy.library.maryville.edu/10.1177/1077558719901216Links to an external site.

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