California nurses are preparing to implement initiatives that would help them play a larger role in the health care system as the U.S. rolls out the federal health reform law, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
Nurse leaders and supporters recently discussed their plans during a town hall meeting in Sacramento (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 8/12).
Background
In December 2010, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launched a campaign aimed at implementing recommendations from an Institute of Medicine report that called for expanding nurses' scope of practice.
In its recommendations, IOM urged states and the federal government to eliminate barriers that narrow advanced practice nurses' scope of practice.
The campaign is working closely with AARP and five states -- California, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey and New York -- which are organizing pilot programs to advance nursing-related issues at the local, state and national levels (California Healthline, 12/1/10).
Plan Details
In California, RWJF and AARP have teamed up with the California Action Coalition to implement the recommendations from the IOM report.
The groups aim to:
- Survey nurses to determine how they want to participate in the changes and how to encourage nurse leadership;
- Expand on a 2009 bill (AB 1295) that aims to develop better ways for nursing students to move from associate degree programs to bachelor's degree programs;
- Double the number of nurses with doctoral degrees who would work on the research and academic side of the profession; and
- Increase the number of practicing nurses with doctoral degrees (Sacramento Business Journal, 8/12).