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House OKs bill giving nurse practitioners more autonomy
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Posted on Feb 03 2009
After debating and listening to several hours of testimony, the House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday allowing advanced nurse practitioners in the CNMI to work without the supervision of physicians.
Under Senate Bill 16-44, advanced nurse practitioners can treat patients in the scope of work that they are educationally prepared.
The measure can improve access to patient care, said Nursing Board chair Bertha P. Camacho, who spoke before the House. Nurse practitioners are cost effective and easier to hire in public health. There are currently four nurse practitioners on Saipan and one each on Tinian and Rota.
“It means we’re a step ahead and we’re in the process to allow the Board of Nursing to implement rules and regulations consistent with the Nurse Practice Act,” she said.
Ben Aldan, president of the Saipan Health Clinic, raised concerns about the creation of the regulations during his testimony. Aldan urged the lawmakers to set their own definitions because the composition of the Nursing Board changes every year. He said he was trying to be cautious.
“It’s so easy to prescribe something and find out it’s really bad for the patient later on,” he said.
Aurelia G. Long, the advanced practice registered nurse at the Tinian Health Center, said it is common in the states for advanced nurse practitioners to provide care for patients without physician supervision.
Advanced nurse practitioners have been working in the CNMI for close to 20 years, so it is not something new, Camacho said.
“Educational preparation is well laid out, and so it’s not hard to understand that we are educationally trained,” she added.
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee, in its report recommending the bill’s passage, cited the difficulty of recruiting physicians and the lack of staff at the hospital and other health centers in the CNMI.
The report said health care is severely disrupted when a doctor goes on vacation or abruptly leaves, which has happened many times.
The bill will now head back to the Senate to be voted on because the House made some amendments.
