Regulation for Nursing Practice in California

Module Pre-Assessments are your opportunity to practice applying module content before final submission of your Competency Assessment. Your final Competency Assessment includes a PowerPoint Presentation. Therefore, you may choose to write your Pre-Assessment responses here in the form of PowerPoint slides, as paragraphs to edit and transfer to slides, as a script, or as another type of deliverable. Consider what would be most helpful for you.

For your Module 2 Pre-Assessment, respond to the following prompts. These prompts match those in your final Assessment.

Prompts:

You are leading a staff development meeting on regulation for nursing practice at your healthcare organization or agency.

You will continue to create a PowerPoint Presentation that you could give at this meeting.

Develop an 8- to 10-slide (total for all topics) PowerPoint Presentation, including speaker notes, that addresses the following:
Explain at least one federal regulation for healthcare.
How does this regulation influence delivery, cost, and access to healthcare [e.g., Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA]?
Explain whether there has been any change to the regulation within the past 2–5 years. Be specific and provide examples.
Once you submit your responses, assess yourself using the rubric provided. Use your Pre-Assessment submission and any feedback you may garner to improve and refine your responses.

FEEDBACK FROM PROFESSOR

Students need to Choose 1 specific state RN & APRN regulation from their state board of nursing – not a generic discussion. Let me know if you have any questions or cannot see the feedback.

Slide 1:
Regulation for Nursing Practice in California
Slide 2:
California Board of Registered Nursing Regulations
The California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) is the body that regulates nursing practice for RNs and APRNs in California. Some key BRN regulations include:
Scope of practice definitions for RNs and APRNs (Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Nurse Anesthetists)
Education and licensing requirements
Continuing education requirements for license renewal
Standards of competent performance and nursing ethics
Disciplinary processes for violations
Slide 3:
Recent Changes to NP Scope of Practice
In 2017, the BRN expanded NP scope of practice regulations to allow for practice without standardized procedures. This brought California in line with most other states and increased autonomy and accessibility of NP services (BRN, 2017).
Slide 4:
Standardized Procedures
Prior to 2017, California NPs were required to have standardized procedures in place for diagnosing and treating patients. This meant having a supervising physician sign off on treatment protocols. The 2017 changes eliminated this requirement, giving NPs full practice authority (O’Connor, 2017).
Slide 5:
Impact on Healthcare Delivery and Costs
By expanding NP scope of practice, more patients have access to primary and specialty care. NPs can open independent practices or join physician-led teams. This increases competition and drives down healthcare costs. Some studies found NP-led care to be as effective as physician-led care at a lower cost (Dower et al., 2013; Xue et al., 2018).
Slide 6:
References
BRN. (2017). Changes to nurse practitioner furnishing number regulations. https://www.rn.ca.gov/pdfs/regulations/npr-b-03.pdf
Dower, C., Moore, J., & Langelier, M. (2013). It is time to restructure health professions scope-of-practice regulations to remove barriers to care. Health Affairs, 32(11), 1971–1976. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0537
O’Connor, A. (2017, January 19). California eases restrictions on nurse practitioners. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/health/california-nurse-practitioners-independently.html homework help writing assignment service.
Xue, Y., Ye, Z., Brewer, C., & Spetz, J. (2018). Impact of nurse practitioner scope of practice on health care delivery: A systematic review. Nursing Outlook, 66(1), 89–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2017.08.003
Slide 7:
Summary
In summary, the California BRN regulates nursing practice through scope of practice definitions, education and licensing standards, and enforcement of the Nursing Practice Act. Recent changes in 2017 expanded NP scope of practice, allowing independent practice. This has increased access to healthcare while potentially lowering costs.