Nurse practitioners: Their role in improving health care for all
Anahid Kulwicki
Alice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing, Lebanon
: J Nurs Patient Care
Abstract
There is growing evidence that access to high quality low cost health care services is a serious concern for health policy makers locally and globally and certainty for the public in general. The fact that increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, the changing demographics coupled with new and emerging diseases has added additional strain to the burgeoning health care cost and for greater need in transforming the health care system. The Institute of Medicine in its 2011 report “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health” reiterated the important role nurses play in providing high quality low cost care to the public by virtue of their close relationship with patients and their scientific knowledge of evidence-based practice. The report specified that nurses can be full partners with other health care professionals and lead the improvement and redesign of the health care system and its practice environment. In its final analysis and recommendation, the institute called for removing the scope-of-practice barriers for advance practice registered nurses, especially for the nurse practitioners, who have demonstrated a record of accomplishments in improving access to high quality cost effective health care to the public. The American Nurses Association along with the World Health Organization, the Carnegie Foundation, the National League for Nurses and the International Council of Nurses among many others had made similar recommendation in advancing the education of nurses so that they can fully perform their duties commensurate to their educational preparation. The purpose of this presentation is to: Define the educational preparation of the Nurse Practitioners, clarify the role of the nurse practitioners in improving care, describe the status of nurse practitioners, describe the barriers nurse practitioners experience as health care providers and make recommendations for improving the role of nurse practitioners.
Biography
Anahid Kulwicki is the Dean of the Alice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing in Beirut, Lebanon. In her role as Dean and Director of Graduate Nursing Programs, she has developed and led several nurse practitioner programs including directing the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education re-accreditation studies. She has received numerous program grants to increase the number of advanced practice nurses from culturally, ethnically, economically diverse population.
E-mail: anahid.kulwicki@lau.edu.lb
