- Email: [email protected]
Data: The key to success
From the President Data: The Key to Success
“ACNP seeks to ensure a solid policy and regulatory foundation for nurse practitioner practice which promotes affordable, high quality healthcare for all.”
American College of Nurse Practitioners 1501 Wilson Blvd Suite 509 Arlington, VA 22209 Tel: 703-740-2529 Fax: 703-740-2533 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ACNPweb.org
O
ver the past several weeks national nursing organizations, including ACNP, have been asked to respond to a series of initiatives directed at advanced practice nurses. These initiatives included
such phenomena as The National Council of State Boards of Nursing Vision Paper, the doctor of nursing practice degree, the American Medical Association’s “Scope of Practice Partnership,” and a host of congressional bills. In each case the originator was looking for additional information in response to the specific proposal/legislation. And in each case subjective and emotional arguments were proffered along with some supporting objective data. What is needed in response to these queries is more objective data. As nurse practitioners we collect objective data on every patient we see. We then use this data to arrive at differentials, diagnoses, and treat-
2006 - 2007 Board of Directors and Staff Contacts
ments using a clear, logical progression. When queried by national organizations, we need to use these same types of critical thinking skills to respond to the issue at hand. For example, when one organization comes
President
out with a marketing strategy that suggests that “…NPs are not providing
Kenneth P. Miller, PhD, RN, CFNP, FAAN
safe care…,” we need to respond by asking to see the data that supports
President Elect/Vice President
such a statement. Additionally, we need to be prepared to offer data that
Susan Apold, PhD, RN, ANP
refutes this type of proposition. There are several seminal articles in the
Treasurer Alison Mitchell, RN, MSN, ACNP-C
Secretary Teresa Richardson, MSN, APRN, BC
Immediate Past-President Judy Hendricks, MS, ANP
literature going as far back as 1972 that show just the opposite. Gone are the days when we can just ignore these types of portrayals and simply hope that they go away. Also gone are the days when we can simply deliver an emotional tirade against such statements and hope that the public will see this type of “baiting” as simply an “us versus them” scenario. As professionals we must respond quickly, courteously, and with all
Individual Member Representatives Patricia A. Hughes, MS, RN, FNP, WHNP, BC Barbara A. Todd, MSN, CRNP, APRN-BC
the objective data that we have in our armamentarium. More importantly, we need to be collecting data now in all our clinics on evidence-based best practices. However, it is not enough to simply collect the data; we
National Affiliate Representatives Julie A. Stanik-Hutt, PhD, ACNP, CCNS Charlotte Kelley, MSN, CNP, ARNP
State Affiliate Representatives Michelle Ashby, MSN, CRNP Elaine Ferrary, MS, RNC, FNP
ACNP Staff Carolyn Hutcherson, CEO Allison Beard, Communications Director Kim Williams, Administrative Mgr/Meetings Jamie Cole, Administrative Assistant
424
The Journal for Nurse Practitioners - JNP
need to publish it so that the wider health care and public audiences can judge for themselves the contributions that NPs make to health care in this country. It is these data that we present in peer-reviewed journals that will be the key to our success in refuting off-the-cuff statements about our practice.
Ken Miller, PhD, RN, CFNP, FAAN ACNP President 2006 1555-4155/06/$ see front matter © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.nurpra.2006.06.006
July/August 2006
“ACNP seeks to ensure a solid policy and regulatory foundation for nurse practitioner practice which promotes affordable, high quality healthcare for all.”
American College of Nurse Practitioners 1501 Wilson Blvd Suite 509 Arlington, VA 22209 Tel: 703-740-2529 Fax: 703-740-2533 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ACNPweb.org
O
ver the past several weeks national nursing organizations, including ACNP, have been asked to respond to a series of initiatives directed at advanced practice nurses. These initiatives included
such phenomena as The National Council of State Boards of Nursing Vision Paper, the doctor of nursing practice degree, the American Medical Association’s “Scope of Practice Partnership,” and a host of congressional bills. In each case the originator was looking for additional information in response to the specific proposal/legislation. And in each case subjective and emotional arguments were proffered along with some supporting objective data. What is needed in response to these queries is more objective data. As nurse practitioners we collect objective data on every patient we see. We then use this data to arrive at differentials, diagnoses, and treat-
2006 - 2007 Board of Directors and Staff Contacts
ments using a clear, logical progression. When queried by national organizations, we need to use these same types of critical thinking skills to respond to the issue at hand. For example, when one organization comes
President
out with a marketing strategy that suggests that “…NPs are not providing
Kenneth P. Miller, PhD, RN, CFNP, FAAN
safe care…,” we need to respond by asking to see the data that supports
President Elect/Vice President
such a statement. Additionally, we need to be prepared to offer data that
Susan Apold, PhD, RN, ANP
refutes this type of proposition. There are several seminal articles in the
Treasurer Alison Mitchell, RN, MSN, ACNP-C
Secretary Teresa Richardson, MSN, APRN, BC
Immediate Past-President Judy Hendricks, MS, ANP
literature going as far back as 1972 that show just the opposite. Gone are the days when we can just ignore these types of portrayals and simply hope that they go away. Also gone are the days when we can simply deliver an emotional tirade against such statements and hope that the public will see this type of “baiting” as simply an “us versus them” scenario. As professionals we must respond quickly, courteously, and with all
Individual Member Representatives Patricia A. Hughes, MS, RN, FNP, WHNP, BC Barbara A. Todd, MSN, CRNP, APRN-BC
the objective data that we have in our armamentarium. More importantly, we need to be collecting data now in all our clinics on evidence-based best practices. However, it is not enough to simply collect the data; we
National Affiliate Representatives Julie A. Stanik-Hutt, PhD, ACNP, CCNS Charlotte Kelley, MSN, CNP, ARNP
State Affiliate Representatives Michelle Ashby, MSN, CRNP Elaine Ferrary, MS, RNC, FNP
ACNP Staff Carolyn Hutcherson, CEO Allison Beard, Communications Director Kim Williams, Administrative Mgr/Meetings Jamie Cole, Administrative Assistant
424
The Journal for Nurse Practitioners - JNP
need to publish it so that the wider health care and public audiences can judge for themselves the contributions that NPs make to health care in this country. It is these data that we present in peer-reviewed journals that will be the key to our success in refuting off-the-cuff statements about our practice.
Ken Miller, PhD, RN, CFNP, FAAN ACNP President 2006 1555-4155/06/$ see front matter © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.nurpra.2006.06.006
July/August 2006