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Ohio Nursing Organizations opposing PA legislation-- Voting 4/2


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I received an email from the Ohio Association of Physician Assistants about the upcoming bill HB412 (previously posted in this forum.) It appears the only organizations actively opposing this are the Ohio Association of Advance Practice Nurses, and the Ohio Nurses Association. 

 

The Bill will go to the committee vote on Wednesday April 4th and any PAs that can attend the hearing are encouraged to do so.

 

View the letter from the OAPA here: http://associationdatabase.com/aws/OAPA/ebulletin/view_mail/65819/1127143

 

It also lists the voting members who can be contacted regarding this bill. 

 

Any additional state or national support is appreciated. Ohio has made great strides for PAs lately, I'd hate to see a setback.

 

Thank you, everyone.

 

H

 

 

 

 

The text of the letter is listed below, for those who can't view:

 

"Ohio PAs:

It is urgent that you contact your State Representative on the House Health Committee with regard to HB412. 

House Bill 412, the Physician Assistant code update, is scheduled for a committee vote on Wednesday, April 2 in the Ohio Health, Human Services, and Aging Committee. 

After countless hours of discussion and negotiations, we have been able to get all interested parties to a position of neutrality or general support, except for the Ohio Association of Advance Practice Nurses, and the Ohio Nurses Association.  The OAAPN and ONA are opposing our bill because we refuse to capitulate to their demands limiting PAs' ability to delegate tasks and medical administration to unlicensed healthcare practitioners.  The Nurses want to limit this delegation authority to non-hospital settings only.

We need your help contacting the Health Committee members and the members of the Ohio House of Representatives to tell them to support HB 412 as it will be presented on Wednesday.  Specifically, you should covey to them:

 

  • The bill is not opposed by any physician group, the Ohio State Medical Board or the Ohio Hospital Association.
  • We have built in safeguards to make medical assistant delegation safe, included a prohibition on administering schedule or intravenous drugs.
  • Patient safety is paramount and the PA training, supervision agreements and hospital policies all serve as safeguards for patients.
  • The supervising physician and delegating PA are ultimately responsible for the safety of the patient and their ability to practice fully within the scope of their training should not be impinged upon by another healthcare practitioner group.
  • PAs have just as much expertise and more training than an RN in caring for and determining the acuity of a patient in a hospital setting and should be able to determine the best course of care for that patient in conjunction with their supervising physician.

 

Emphasize that we are dependent practitioners and we need to be able to practice within the full scope of our training. If your Representative is not available, convey the message to his or her Aide.

Please report back to OAPA on any information you think will be helpful for the pending hearing.  Also, we need as many PAs as possible to attend the hearing next Wednesday, April 2, to show their support.  We will meet at the statehouse at 9 am to attend the 9:30 hearing.  Please meet at Milo’s deli in the basement of the statehouse if you are able to make it.

Finally, contact your State Representative, regardless of whether or not they are on the Health Committee and deliver the same message so they are prepared when HB412 goes to the full House for a vote.

Find your State Representative

Members of the House Health Committee:

Lynn Wachtmann, Chair
Anne Gonzales, Vice Chair
Nickie J. Antonio, Ranking Minority
John E. Barnes, Jr.
Heather Bishoff
Barbara Boyd
Tim W. Brown
John Patrick Carney
Robert Hagan
Brian D. Hill
Jay Hottinger
Terry A. Johnson
Matt Lynch
Ron Maag
Dale Mallory
Dan R. Ramos
Kirk Schuring
Barbara R. Sears
Ryan Smith
Robert Sprague

 

Please act on this right away!  Contact the OAPA office if you have any questions.

 

Thank you.

Beth Adamson
OAPA
800/292-4997
oapa@ohiopa.com

 

 

 

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Guest Paula

It really is unfortunate  NPs oppose this bill.  This is a reason why there can be so much rancor between the two groups of Advanced Practitioners.  NPs complain that physicians limit their practices and then they try to limit ours.  

 

I sure hope the bill passes.  Has AAPA sent a letter in support?  These type of issues are another reason why PAs need to gain collaborative practices and to ditch the supervision and dependent status along with the assistant title.  

 

PAFT might be able to send a letter in support of the bill.  I will ask at our board meeting Sunday night. 

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Slightly off topic, but I logged on tonight to post this unpleasant experience, and it seems somehow relevant to the general theme of poor inter-professional relations. 

 

A family member of mine is in MICU and is truly critically ill.  I've spent much of the last five days with my family trying to help them navigate the confusion that is modern medicine.  Never once have I said to anyone in the hospital that I am a PA; it's irrelevant.  I just listen to what the team is telling my family and then offer some translation in terms that they can understand so they know more fully what is happening and what to expect.  A more distant family member who was visiting today mentioned to the day shift nurse, a young male of about 26, that I was a PA and that she was glad to have me around at this difficult time.  He immediately became cocky and literally started pimping me about my family member's condition, including exposing her body parts for my inspection and my "medical impresssion" of her findings.  He was quick to (condescendingly) correct anything I offered.  Of course I have not asked for access to labs, team reports, imaging, chart notes, etc., as this is not my role. I'm sure I handled the situation poorly, as I was completely taken aback by his aggressive posture.  This is really the first time I've personally been on the receiving end of such professional posturing and I am appalled. 

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Slightly off topic, but I logged on tonight to post this unpleasant experience, and it seems somehow relevant to the general theme of poor inter-professional relations. 

 

A family member of mine is in MICU and is truly critically ill.  I've spent much of the last five days with my family trying to help them navigate the confusion that is modern medicine.  Never once have I said to anyone in the hospital that I am a PA; it's irrelevant.  I just listen to what the team is telling my family and then offer some translation in terms that they can understand so they know more fully what is happening and what to expect.  A more distant family member who was visiting today mentioned to the day shift nurse, a young male of about 26, that I was a PA and that she was glad to have me around at this difficult time.  He immediately became cocky and literally started pimping me about my family member's condition, including exposing her body parts for my inspection and my "medical impresssion" of her findings.  He was quick to (condescendingly) correct anything I offered.  Of course I have not asked for access to labs, team reports, imaging, chart notes, etc., as this is not my role. I'm sure I handled the situation poorly, as I was completely taken aback by his aggressive posture.  This is really the first time I've personally been on the receiving end of such professional posturing and I am appalled.

Sorry that this was your initiation to political relations with militant nurses. it's very common and something I used to deal with all the time. I don't work at places that hire nurses ( or docs) like that anymore.

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To play devil's advocate: perhaps it's because I am a former ICU nurse, but I get the opposite reaction often. Many young nurses ask me questions, ask me how I became a PA (as in how can they do it too), and I'm getting plenty of respect on rotations as if I was a medical student or an intern. I've gotten much more disrespect from physicians (plenty typically from interns/residents) than nurses (none). Heck, one day a lab tech had a seizure in the office and all of them looked to me to handle the situation, partly because there was no other provider there since I was early. Took my orders without question.

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To play devil's advocate: perhaps it's because I am a former ICU nurse, but I get the opposite reaction often. Many young nurses ask me questions, ask me how I became a PA (as in how can they do it too), and I'm getting plenty of respect on rotations as if I was a medical student or an intern. I've gotten much more disrespect from physicians (plenty typically from interns/residents) than nurses (none). Heck, one day a lab tech had a seizure in the office and all of them looked to me to handle the situation, partly because there was no other provider there since I was early. Took my orders without question.

excellent. I'm guessing you look "older" (?)

In my mid 40s I'm frequently mistaken for someone much younger. that has its pros/cons as you might guess.

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Heck, one day a lab tech had a seizure in the office and all of them looked to me to handle the situation, partly because there was no other provider there since I was early. Took my orders without question.

 

I find it amazing (and it has happened a few times) when the chips are down and the S*** is hitting the fan - everyone is more then happy to step back and let me do my job.... only when they "think" they know what to do with in their tiny little area of expertise do they try to challenge......

 

Strange human behavior.....

 

 

I too have had some family interactions when my family was considering major surgery and medical issues - those doc's (surgeons) that would not address the patient, nor answer questions with a real answer (not some canned generic ' "we will see what happens when we are in there") were promptly crossed of the list of possible doc's.  I have also found that it is best (unless asked) to keep my profession to myself.  Not hiding it, but instead just trying to ask intelligent questions.

 

 

 

I do tend to call nurses and docs that are arrogant and unhelpful on it...... just not helpful to patient care

 

I also am very quick to defer to the "experts" in the field - ie the ICU nurse talking ICU terms would likely loose me quickly  but the general medial issues remain the same....

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Slightly off topic, but I logged on tonight to post this unpleasant experience, and it seems somehow relevant to the general theme of poor inter-professional relations. 

 

File a grievance on this.  You are family of a patient, I have a feeling it will be taken extremely seriously.

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Guest Paula

PAFT can send a letter to the Ohio Nurses Association, possibly.  Have you asked AAPA to send a letter?  None of them will get there before the hearing.

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PAFT can send a letter to the Ohio Nurses Association, possibly.  Have you asked AAPA to send a letter?  None of them will get there before the hearing.

 

Paula, it's 2014. Communication is instantaneous. Send the "letters."

 

And addressing the ONA is fine, but communication would be better sent to legislators and third-parties like bloggers and media outlets explaining, in simple terms, the impact this type of behavior has on patients.

 

I've individually contacted every member of the Health and Aging Committee in the Ohio House as well as the health and medicine reporters and editors of the major media outlets in the three largest metropolitan areas in OH.

 

My blog regarding this issue should post to JAAPA soon. If you want my talking points to these various parties now, PM me and I can provide them.

 

P.S.  One man together with many other men can do much.  Strength in numbers.  Join PAFT.  Also mean women, too.

 

Now would be a good time for PAFT to show that they get behind issues that actually affect PA practice. OH is home to one of the largest private employers of PAs in the country, the Cleveland Clinic. If you want people to join your organization, show them something.

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Now would be a good time for PAFT to show that they get behind issues that actually affect PA practice.

um, the new direction the aapa is taking, who do you think pushed them in that direction? we have been meeting with aapa folks constantly since before we existed as a formal group telling them in no uncertain terms that this is the way the profession needs to go or it will die. We are the conscience of the profession and the only ones saying what needs to be said, what everyone knows is true, but can't say for fear of upsetting those in power(docs, medical boards, etc)

why do you think we were specifically invited to the recent aapa policy summit? we are doing a lot of stuff behind the scenes that no one knows about....have you even read the guidelines that PAFT came out with LAST YEAR that the aapa are now mirroring?

http://www.pasfortomorrow.org/highest_practice_level

If you want our help an olive branch would probably work better than insults........

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