Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 2, 1993 TAG: 9304280451
SECTION: NURSES PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SARAH COX
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Harvey, a family nurse practitioner with the Allegheny Health District, helped educate local legislatures regarding the importance of prescriptive authority for nurse practitioners. This kind of authority, especially in outlying rural areas in Virginia, cuts the patients' waiting time for medicine when a physician isn't available.
Harvey knows about that kind of situation. She often works in areas where the medical director is not present on a daily basis, and getting a prescription filled could take up to 48 hours. Now, with prescriptive authority, she closes the gap.
But to get to this point she had to teach legislators what nurse practitioners are - alternative health care providers. A nurse practitioner is licensed, has a master's degree and specializes in her field. An LPN is a licensed practical nurse, or a step below an RN.
Harvey said she and others had been trying to get prescriptive authority since 1980, and the last time it came up for a vote, legislators were more educated about the importance of NPs being able to write prescriptions. Nurses came up against opposition on their way to the Senate, however, especially from the Virginia Medical Society. They had to not only educate their legislators, but take their cause to pharmacists and the Board of Medicine.
Harvey said nurses play a critical role in politics, particularly in this era of health care reform. Recently, the Nurse Practitioners Summit Conference was held in Washington, D.C., for the purpose of establishing goals, including agenda of health care reform that all nurse practitioners at the conference could support.
"It's critical to get all nurses involved," said Harvey, who believes our country lacks primary care physicians and that nurse practitioners could offer 60 percent of primary care needed.
In addition, nurse practitioners are more cost effective, because they are less expensive to educate and have less overhead and lower liability insurance.
"Nurses and nurse practitioners need to educate legislators about alterative primary care providers such as family physicians, osteopaths, nurse practitioners and physician assistants," Harvey said.
Although Virginia has a reputation among nurses for being a conservative state, Harvey sees that situation changing. She said once, when she worked for Roanoke Memorial Hospital, she drafted a request to be involved in the clinical component of medicine, and that request was "shot down." But now, they are using nurse practitioners in the ob/gyn clinic.
Cindy Massie may be out to help speed up that change. She is a nurse who conducts long-term care policy research carried out by Virginia Legislators. She works for the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech, and is considering seeking the Democratic nomination for the 12th District in the Virginia General Assembly (this includes Montgomery County and eastern Giles County.) If she declares, it won't be her first brush with the politics.
Last year she was involved in a program to prepare women in policymaking decision, and worked on the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources subcommittee on Aging. In this committee, she wrote long-term health care legislation.
"Because of nurses' knowledge of health care, they bring a depth of understanding to legislation. Working in the Senate, often people who have just recently gained knowledge of long-term care are responsible for writing legislation. My experience, as a nurse and otherwise (she is working toward a doctoral degree on public policy) added to my abilities."
Massie said legislators' reactions to her presence was one of enthusiasm. "They were so happy to have someone with a background - there was a real appreciation."
Sandra Whitley Ryals is another nurse who's been involved in the political process for years. One of her goals is to smooth the way for other nurses by encouraging them, showing them the ropes and increasing their understanding of how to get to legislators and how to get them to listen.
Ryals is the nurse director for the Roanoke City Health Department, and was president-elect and president of the Virginia Nurses Association from 1990 to 1992. She is currently chairman of the Alliance, which is a state organization that brings together a variety of nursing groups. That two-year term will expire in 1994.
In addition, Ryals participates with legislative committees on the district and state levels, and is a delegate to the state Democratic convention to be held this month.
"Nurses have a responsibility, both to patients and to their communities. We need to help educate legislators on issues and bring about changes in health care with first-hand knowledge. We are responsible to advocate for others," Ryals said.
During her presidency in the VNA, Ryals started the Walk for Healthy Virginians (1991) in conjunction with Nurses Day at the General Assembly (an event which has been going on for eight years).
"Over 1,000 nurses marched down Broad Sreet [in Richmond]. It helped nurses to be more visible," she recalled. It also helped let the nurses see first hand the results of their actions," she added.
by CNB