Skip to main content

Dysfunction

Nope, not a post on the dysfunction of the health care system, just on the wonderful New York State politics at play. Today, accidental governor Patterson vetoed a bill that had passed both NYS Senate and Assembly that would have allowed NPs to sign DNR orders.

There were apparently some language/technical issues with the Bill. However, the most disturbing piece here is the Governors complete and total lack of understanding what NPs do (no real surprise there). He was quoted,

"Finally, I am not convinced that this is an appropriate function to be carried out by nurse practitioners. Decisions of life and death should be made by physicians, not nurse practitioners.”

Not convinced?!? Didn't you just sign a bill that eliminated collaborative agreements between physicians and nurse midwives? (That would be life). Ever hear of hospice care? (That would be death). I wonder if he understands exactly who is spending time with hospice patients in their final days of life. It is the team of professionals largely comprised of nurses, NPs, and physicians. (For a wonderful read about hospice care, see this piece written by an NP colleague.) In times when some Governors are blazing the trail to reduce barriers to NP practice (think PA Governor Ed Rendell), we are literally stuck here in NY to maintain the status quo, all the while when they are crying that there aren't enough providers to care for patients.

Of course, I am waiting for organized medicine to claim victory on this one touting how New Yorkers will somehow be "safer" because NPs won't be able to sign the DNR (I predict they will paint a ridiculous picture where NPs would sign DNRs left and right and slowly kill off New Yorkers one by one - maybe thats one way to keep health care costs down!).

Dysfunction. Election day can not come soon enough so that New Yorkers will hold elected officials accountable for their incompetence and narrow-mindedness. Oh, and hopefully we'll have a budget passed by then too (the one that was due on April 1st - April Fool's Day - go figure).

Comments

Nicolle said…
NP's make decisions on Life and Death everyday, Patterson is so uninformed...if he could only "see" what NP's do.
That is so sad. It seems like he didn't ask his staff to do further research or what have you. The hospital has members who needs to unite and work together harmoniously to save people. He is just creating rifts and bumps rather than straightening them out.

Popular posts from this blog

Private Practice

There is an interesting trend that I'm observing and don't necessarily see how this is going to turn out. I'm seeing more and more nurse practitioner's opening their own autonomous practices. Many of these offices set out to offer care that is personalized, covered under insurance, and of course high-quality. I'm also seeing more NP specialty/sub-specialty practices such as house calls, incontinence, and women's health. This is in a time when more physician practices are joining together in these conglomerations that aren't necessarily tied to hospitals. You'd be hard pressed to find a solo primary care physician these days yet nurse practitioner solo practices are popping up. The talk about the formation of accountable care organizations can be attributed to health care reform and the spurring of large multi-physician practices. What to make of this? I honestly don't know. Many people and patients have said to me "you should start your own prac

Guest Post: The Pros and Cons of Legal Nurse Consulting

The Pros and Cons of Legal Nurse Consulting I’ve spent years pursuing different avenues in the health care industry. I spent my high school years studying to become a CAN, I was at one point a EMT, and I eventually turned to alternative practices like massage therapy, herbs and general fitness and nutrition. Not long ago, though, I heard a term that was relatively new to me – legal nurse consulting. My aunt told me about her pursuit of a legal nurse consulting certification. Her goal was to pass the certification exam and open her own business, partnering with lawyers around the country to help them understand medical charts and the medical profession as a whole. Sounds great, right? I’m wondering if it really is. I urge anyone who is considering legal nurse consulting to consider the pros and cons. While it is certainly an admiral and profitable career path, it may limit your future choices. First of all, legal nurse consulting is not a get-rich-quick solution to your problems. If you

NP Residency

The healthcare system of today is so complex yet so dysfunctional that I believe the time has come to educate and train the NP providers of tomorrow in a way that is reflective of that complexity. We have done a good job up to this point but need to bring that to the next level. Residency. I'm not necessarily referring to the typical residency training of physicians which takes place in hospitals but a residency-type of program in an out-patient setting (ironic that we use the term residency). We realize that healthcare is not exclusively delivered in hospitals. It takes place in independent providers offices, in community health centers, in mobile health vans, and in retail settings. It takes place in people's homes and places of employment. It takes place in many of the health decisions that we make on a daily basis. I found this NP residency program in Connecticut that claims to be the first NP residency in the US. The programs admits 4 NPs each year and trains them to ha