Policy Research to Inform Discussion on Scope of Practice

Alex Hoyt, PhD, RN, a Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions School of Nursing Assistant Professor is using his recently awarded RWJF grant to bring policy research to the political debate over nurse practitioners’ (NPs') scope of practice. Dr. Hoyt was recently awarded a $250,000 grant via the Future of Nursing National Research Agenda initiative.

Dr. Hoyt plans to study the influence of regulatory changes on the NP workforce over time, how organizations interpret state practice regulations, and how these factors impact cost, quality, and access to care.

Click here to learn more about this impressive work.

Removing Barriers to Practice & Care

The Diane Rehm Show Discusses the Role of Nurse Practitioners

In 18 states and the District of Columbia, nurse practitioners (NPs) are allowed to treat patients and prescribe medications without a doctor's involvement. Lawmakers in a number of other states are pushing for similar changes to existing laws that place unnecessary barriers in between nurse practitioners and patients.

Last week, Diane Rehm hosted a discussion on the role of nurse practitioners on her nationally-syndicated radio show. Can removing these barriers help NPs address the shortage of primary care physicians? Does a team-based approach including a medical doctor result in better care for patients?

Listen to the show here.

Diane's guests included:

• Dr. Reid Blackwelder: family physician and president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians. 
• Mary Agnes Carey: senior correspondent for Kaiser Health News. 
• Ken Miller: nurse practitioner, associate dean at The Catholic University of America School of Nursing, and president-elect of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. 
• Sandra Nattina: nurse practitioner at Columbia Medical Practice in Columbia, Md., and past president of Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland. 

New Mechanisms for Linking Research and Policy

Impact 2.0: New mechanisms for linking research and policy supported a series of small research projects examining the use of online social networking services to link research and policy in Latin America.

Two types of projects were supported: (i) action research projects involved both implementing and evaluating a specific use of one or more online social networking services to link research and policy or researchers and policymakers, and (ii) more conventional ones evaluated existing initiatives implemented by third parties. A five-member jury evaluated the submissions and its members provided advice and support to the researchers at various moments during the project, but no specific framework or theoretical approach was imposed. Proposals were accepted from a variety of disciplinary perspectives as long as they addressed, through a formal research process, the impact of web 2.0 and online social networking services on the links between research and public policy, with an overall objective of documenting the design, implementation and impact of actions undertaken to link of knowledge generation and policy definition.

  Click here to access the full research report on new mechanisims for linking research and policy

RWJF Connect eTraining Series: Packaging Research for Policymakers

Registration for RWJF’s second eTraining on policymaker outreach is now open. This session will focus on how to create messages and materials that are understandable and appealing to policymaker audiences.

November 8, 12:00-1:30 pm ET
Register here.

The Future of Nursing Report is the IOM's Most Read Report In June 2012

Even though it was released almost two years ago, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health" continues to be one of the most read documents on the IOM's website. If you are not familiar with this document, you can read some of our previous blog coverage related to this landmark report. Since its initial release, the Future of Nursing Report has continued to expand its scope of impact with the expansion of Action Coalitions across the United States, while also acting as an important resource for nurses and nursing organizations in their efforts to improve the nursing workforce.