Registered nurses, a good option for the VA: Your Say
Corrections and clarifications: The previous headline referred to registered nurses, not nurse practitioners.
Letter to the editor:
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ proposed rule to allow advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to practice to the full extent of their education and training as nurses is an important step to provide our nation’s veterans with direct access to the high-quality patient care they deserve.
Kim-Lien Nguyen’s comments in USA TODAY’s column “VA nurses aren’t equipped to act like doctors” are extremely disappointing. This is another outrageous and divisive attempt to ignite a turf battle between physicians and nurses that doesn’t put the needs of patients first. Nurses consistently deliver exceptional care with highly satisfied patients when they are allowed to work to the full extent of their education and training. There is no basis for continuing to require supervision — and to be clear, APRNs practice nursing, not medicine. In order to continue to provide quality care to veterans, all health care professionals must work together as a team. Our nation’s veterans deserve nothing less.
Pamela F. Cipriano, Ph.D., RN; American Nurses Association
Facebook comments are edited for clarity, length and grammar:
You are deluded in thinking that a year-and-a-half of clinical experience is equivalent to the four years of actual residency . While APRNs are valuable members of a team, their training is not equivalent. To say that as a group they are equal to doctors is nonsense.
— Julia Kate DeLoach O'Neal
Veterans who understand the training gap would be appalled to be thrust into the sole care of a nurse. We already recieve substandard care from a broken system. But in most cases, nurses are better listeners and have more compassion than two-thirds of the doctors. We spend more time with the nurse, so I'm all for it.
— Robert Walker
As a nurse practitioner, a lot of what is said here is offensive. Nurse practioners are trained to do their jobs in a safe capacity, and most have passed national board exams to practice.
— Morgan Bahm