From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— Gov. Tony Evers today signed legislation creating a new certification for advanced practice registered nurses that will allow them to practice independently of a physician after meeting certain benchmarks.
Evers vetoed similar versions of the bill in each of the past two sessions. But proponents made several changes, including a minimum number of hours worked in a clinic before an APRN would no longer have to consult with a physician.
The Wisconsin Medical Society had opposed the legislation in past sessions, but was neutral on the new version.
According to a memo from the Legislative Reference Bureau, the changes in the new version include:
- Requiring 3,840 hours of professional nursing in a clinical setting before an APRN no longer has to collaborate with a physician.
- Requiring continued collaboration with a physician for pain management services.
- Limiting those licensed by the Board of Nursing from using certain titles. That includes barring those who hold a doctorate from using the title “doctor” unless they specify the field in which the degree was earned.
In announcing the signing, the guv’s office noted some have estimated that approximately 8,000 registered nurses in Wisconsin could qualify as APRNs.
It was one of several health care-related bills that Evers signed today.
Others included:
- SB 14, which requires hospitals to ensure written informed consent is obtained from a patient before a pelvic examination is performed on the patient solely for educational purposes while the patient is under general anesthesia or otherwise unconscious.
- SB 31, which provides legal protections for physician assistants and advanced practice nurse prescribers who aren’t employed by a local health department, but provide services without compensation.
- SB 43, which authorizes advanced practice nurse prescribers to pronounce the date, time, and place of a patient’s death for a death record.
- SB 98, which allows a health care cooperative to convert into a service insurance corporation.
- AB 45, enters Wisconsin into the Dietitian Licensure Compact, allowing dietitians to practice in member states.
See the release below.
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