Healthcare is a vital sector in all countries of the world because it provides services to people suffering from different ailments. This field has changed over the years due to increased number of health conditions to handle that resulted in emergence of new patients needs and demands for high-quality care. In most countries of the world, advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) are among the most valuable specialists in providing high-quality primary care to patients. These professionals, including clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and nurse anesthetists, play a fundamental role in healthcare sector. APRNs are always committed in providing primary care and are at the lead of offering preventative care to the people in the community. Due to the nature of the profession, there are different state requirements and regulations for this nursing specialty. These requirements and regulations vary from one administrative territory to another. Before deciding to practice as an APRN, it is important to understand certification, legal and licensure requirements of a particular US state. The paper focuses on requirements developed for Georgia.
Healthcare sector in Georgia involves private and public healthcare providers. To ensure integration and well-organized operations of this field, Georgias administration has come up with laws and regulations that are aimed at ensuring that only qualified individuals are permitted to offer healthcare services. Thus, for one to be allowed to practice as APRN, they must meet the set certification, legal and licensure requirements. The state of Georgia allows four key types of APRNs. They include: certified nurse midwife (CNM), nurse practitioner (NP), clinical nurse specialist (CNS), and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA).
Licensure Requirements for Advanced Practice Nursing in Georgia
To be licensed practical nurse in Georgia, one must be a registered qualified nurse. In case an individual holds an RN license in a state other than Georgia, one is required to use the Application for Licensure by Ratification in order to apply for a RN license and be able to practice in Georgia. If an individual has never been licensed to practice in Georgia or any other state of the US, a nurse is required to apply for Georgia licensure through the Application for Licensure by Exam. Additionally, if someone got RN training in a foreign country, a practitioner should apply for a license through Exam for Graduates of Intercontinental Nursing Education Programs. In this case, a person who received training in a foreign country also goes through a course-by-course evaluation, which is carried out by the Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools Commission.
When a license to practice as advanced practice nurse is currently expired or inactive, one is required to submit for application for reinstatement. It is a requirement in Georgia to renew a license from the Board of Nursing every two years. For instance, for licenses that expired in January 2016, before renewal process is completed, nurses are required to meet the continuing proficiency requirements. These requirements include 30 continuing education hours, completion of reentry program, completion of an recognized academic nursing program, maintenance of authorization by a national attesting body, or confirmation of proficiency at a facility having 500 hours worked.
Legal Requirements for Advanced Practice Nursing in Georgia
The first legal requirement for an individual to practice as an APRN in Georgia is possession of a valid Georgia registered nurse license. There is a well-outlined procedure that one must follow before acquiring a RN license. Another legal requirement relates to the level of education that one must attain in order to practice as APRN. According to APRN practice regulation, one must have at least a masters degree in the area of specialty . One more important issue is that a nurse needs to have an active national accreditation in the area of specialty. Additionally, the law in Georgia requires that before one starts practicing as a licensed nurse practitioner, certified nurse- midwife, certified registered nurse anesthetist, or clinical nurse specialist, they must hold an APRN approval from the government of Georgia. A registered nurse license in Georgia shows advanced practice authorization.
How to Meet Requirements
With clear understanding of the APRN practice requirements in Georgia, I am fully committed to meet all these requisites. On the first requirement relating to licensing, I intend to follow the outlined procedure. Having acquired training from a different state, I will apply for a license through Application for Licensure Exam. I will undertake the exam to ensure the board that I am highly qualified to practice as an APRN in Georgia. I intend to respond to all the questions of the exam and obtain high marks that will persuade the board to give me the license to practice. Once I qualify for the license, I will do my best to ensure that I update it after every two years to show that I comply with the law regulating the operations in the healthcare sector.
Since the above step will only evidence that I only partially correspond to the state legal requirements in the field, I will complete my masters degree in order to comply with all legal requirements fully. The law stipulates that for individuals to practice as advanced practice nurse in Georgia, they must have at least a masters degree. I will also continue my education to ensure that I can acquire more knowledge and skills in the area of my specialty and will seek the national accreditation for this purpose. This circumstance will help me to practice effectively as a clinical nurse specialist to my fullest capacity.
Non-Clinical Role
The non-clinical role that I intend to acquire relates to becoming a medical recruiter. I decided to fill this role because I have passion in ensuring that patients get the best care for managing their condition. I aspire to make sure that healthcare institutions employ the highly qualified employees in different areas of nursing specialties. Working as a medical recruiter, I will seek to ensure that there is increased efficiency in the healthcare facility. This issue is in line with the overall objective of the profession that is promoting the wellbeing of society.
To be confident that all areas of healthcare delivery are fully staffed based on the needs of patients and the amount of workload, I will identify all positions that require to be filled. I will be involved in the advertisement of the available vacancies. In the process, I will ensure that all the requirements for suitable candidates are clearly outlined. This circumstance will lead to that only a qualified individual applies for the advertised positions. All applications of appropriate candidates will be reviewed and the candidates will be interviewed accordingly.
I will be actively involved in structuring the interview questions. By doing so, I will ensure that only the questions that test the candidates knowledge of the area of their specialization are included. Selected candidates will be interviewed and objectively evaluated in light of the job-related criteria for hiring the most perspective specialists. Before placing the newly hired employees in the new positions, I will be actively involved in training new employees. This approach will assist the newcomers in thorough understanding of new responsibilities. As a result, the proposed framework will increase work efficiency. In sequence, patients will be provided the high quality care, which is my main objective while working as a medical recruiter.
Moreover, the discussed non-clinical role will entail the development of collaborative relationships with a physician. I will work closely with physician to make sure that I am well aware of industry trends and requirements. This factor will help me identify the emerging patients needs. In this way, I will be able to trace the areas that require additional workforce. To ensure that efficiency is maintained in all spheres, I will act quickly and recruit and select the required employees in every position.
With this role, I also intend to continue my education. As mentioned earlier, an expanded educational background is directly linked to improved professional performance. I intend to schedule the time for studies by attending classes after working hours. The cost of education will be covered by the employer. Based on my value-adding and committed operations in the healthcare institution, I hope that my employer will be willing to pay for my education to help me get additional knowledge and become even more valuable employee. I will explain to the employer that training is important to staff members since education ensures constant accumulation of up-to-date and significant knowledge and skills helpful for all-embracing efficiency in the area of operation.
To conclude, this paper presented an extensive outline of the different legal, licensure and certification requirements for one to practice as advanced practice nurse. In Georgia, one must get a license before being allowed to practice. Another notable issue is to have at least a masters degree among other factors. Thus, any persons willing to practice as an APRN in Georgia must make sure that all legal and licensure requirements are met.
