Advanced practice psychiatric nurses (APPNs) are expanding their roles to include prescriptive authority. This expanded role provides new opportunities to define APPNs as autonomous mental health providers who can offer comprehensive services that integrate psychotherapies and psychopharmacological interventions. Unfortunately, theseopportunities are often restricted by state statutes and rules regulating prescriptiveauthority. This article describes prescriptive authority for APPNs, state by state, and discusses major issues that must be addressed to ensure that APPNs have the opportunities to practice consistent with their educational and clinical qualifications.(J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc [1998]. 4, 190-198)
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Nurses Association. (1994a). A statement on psychiatricmental health clinical nursing practice and standards of psychiatric-mental health clinical nursing practice. Washington, DC: American Nurses Publishing.
2.
American Nurses Association. (1994b). Psychiatric mental health nursing psychopharmacology project. Washington, DC: American Nurses Publishing.
3.
American Psychiatric Nurses Association. ( 1996). Position statement. Prescriptive authority for advanced practice psychiatric nurses. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 2, 33-34.
4.
Bailey, K.P., & Snyder, M.E. (1995). The implementation of advanced practice psychiatric nurse prescribers: A comprehensive model. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 1, 183-189.
5.
Birkholz, G., & Walker, D. (1994). Strategies for state statutory language changes granting fully independent nurse practitioner practice. Nurse Practitioner, 19, 53-58.
6.
Caverly, S.F. (1996). The role of the psychiatric nurse practitioner. Nursing Clinics of NorthAmerica, 31, 449-463.
7.
Cornwell, C., & Chiverton, P. (1997). The psychiatric advanced practice nurse with prescriptive authority: Role development, practice issues, and outcomes measurement. Archives ofPsychiatric Nursing, 11, 57-65.
8.
Fox, J.C. (1992). Psychiatric nursing: Directions for the future . In L. H. Aiken & C. M. Fagin (Eds.), Charting nursing's future: Agenda for the 1990's (pp. 216-234). Philadelphia: Lippincott.
9.
Haber, J., & Billings, C.V. (1995). Primary mental health care: A model for psychiatric-mental health nursing. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 1, 154-163.
10.
Hadley, E.H. (1989). Nurses and prescriptive authority: A legal and economic analysis. American Journal of Law and Medicine, 15, 245-299.
11.
Hartman, D.K. (1993). Critical thinking in psychiatric nursing in the decade of the brain. HolisticNurse Practitioner, 7, 55-63.
12.
Henderson, T., Fox-Grage, W., & Lewis, S. (1995). Scope of practice & reimbursement for advanced practice registered nurses. A state-by-state analysis. Washington, DC: The George Washington University, Intergovernmental Health Policy Project.
13.
Howard, P.B., & Greiner, D. (1997). Constraints to advanced psychiatric-mental health nursing practice. Archives ofPsychiatric Nursing, 11, 198-209.
14.
Kaas, M.J., Dahl, D., Dehn, D., & Frank, K. (1998). Barriers to prescriptive practice for psychiatric/mental health clinical nurse specialists. Clinical Nurse Specialist , 12, 200-204.
15.
Malone, J.A. (1993). What's happening to clinical nurse specialists in psychiatric mental health nursing?Journal of Psychosocial Nursing, 31 (7), 37-39.
16.
McEnany, G.W. (1991). Psychobiology and psychiatric nursing: A philosophical matrix. Archives ofPsychiatric Nursing, 5, 255-261.
National League for Nursing. (1995). Nursing data review. New York: National League for Nursing Press.
19.
Minarik, P.A. (1993). Federal action on prescriptive authority. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 7, 46.
20.
Pearson, L.J. (1998). Annual update of how each state stands on legislative issues affecting advanced nursing practice. Nurse Practitioner , 23, 14-65.
21.
Pothier, P.C., Stuart, G.W., Puskar, K., & Babich, K. (1990). Dilemmas and directions for psychiatric nursing in the 1990s. Archives ofPsychiatric Nursing, 4, 284-291.
22.
Safriet, B.J. (1994). Impediments to progress in health care work-force policy: License and practice laws. Inquiry, 31, 310-317.
23.
Talley, S. (1997). Physical diagnoses for advanced psychiatric nurse practitioners. Part I: assessment and differential diagnosis. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 3, 146-154.
