In this Discussion, you will locate and review the practice agreements in the state (Ohio) in which you plan to practice, identify potential collaboration requirements in your state, and understand the certification and licensing process that you will need to follow.

Certification and Licensure Plan

The Ohio Board of Nursing is responsible for the certification and licensure of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs). APRN licensure in Ohio requires that a registered nurse (RN) be in active practice within the state and attain a master’s or doctoral-level education in any of the significant nursing specialties. RNs are also required to obtain certification in the specialty from a national certifying body (Ohio Board of Nursing, 2022). RNs from other states must prove that they completed their specialty training and pay the required licensing fees.

NPs in Ohio cannot practice independently and require physician supervision. However, they can practice collaboratively with a physician through a Standard Care Arrangement (SCA), which is a written collaboration contract between the NP and the physician (Ohio Board of Nursing, 2022). Of note are the restrictions on independent practice for NPs in Ohio. Further, the NPs must obtain a prescription authority license from the DEA and also sign an SCA to be allowed to prescribe medications and other medical devices. Although NPs in Ohio are not granted independent practice authority in the state, it is worth noting that the Ohio Board of Nursing defines the NP scope of practice based on the provisions of the Nurse Practice Act (NPA). The extra restrictive rules on the NP scope of practice are from the board.

Nurses strengthen health systems (World Health Organization, 2019). NPs’ independent practice improves service delivery and patient experiences while reducing physician workloads (Pittman & Ca, 2022). Surprisingly, a majority of physicians in Ohio do not agree with NPs practicing independently. However, various regulation bills, such as House Bill (HB) 726, have sought for APRNs to be granted authority to practice independently in Ohio. Nevertheless, such bills do not get approved as they face various barriers, such as a lack of support from legislators and physicians.

References

Ohio Board of Nursing. (2022). APRN Licensure and Practice in Ohio. https://nursing.ohio.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/APRN-Licensure-and-Practice-in-Ohio.January-2022.pdf

Pittman, G., & Ca, G. P. (2022). Patient Experience with an NP-Led Community Wound Care Service. Nurse Practitioner Open Journal, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.28984/NPOJ.V2I1.372

World Health Organization. (2019). strengthening health systems through nursing: Evidence from 14 European countries. In A. M. Rafferty, R. Busse, B. Zander-Jentsch, W. Sermeus, & L. Bruyneel (Eds.), Health Policy (Vol. 52). https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/326183