COVID-19 pandemic

As the world responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world of healthcare must do the same. In the state of Texas, officials announced a number of regulatory waivers for advanced practicing nurses due to the impact of the coronavirus. The Texas Board of Nursing and the Texas Medical Board has allowed consults for telemedicine, and waives the requirement for prescriptive authority for advanced practice nurses (TNP, 2020). This is significant in the state of Texas, because this will help alleviate the burden that many doctors face in the midst of covid. Interestingly enough, not all states allow nurse practitioners to practice within their full scope of their education and experience. In fact, only twenty-one states including the District of Columbia currently permits APRN to fully practice under their scope of license (ANA, 2015). Full practice authority means that an APRN knowledge, judgement, and skills are able to be fully utilized to provide medical care and treatment to patients (Bosse et al., 2017). Advanced practice nurses must understand the rules and regulations put in place by their practicing state. Some limitations APRN’s face are, not being able to write prescriptions for schedule I or II controlled substances and no refills of any drugs for more than 12 months from the date of the original order, except for contraceptives (SOS, 2021). APRN’s must adhere to these regulations set in place to maintain their license. It is important for nurse practitioners to keep up with their state guidelines and keep track of prescriptions and the date they were originally ordered for patients. Advance practice nurse practitioners are an essential piece in the healthcare field and are needed to help fill in the gaps for the need for access to care for many patients.