Theresa Puckett, a practicing nurse who also is a professor with a PhD in nursing, had been working PRN at a hospital for 5 years.  When she found herself experiencing chills, achiness and “feeling miserable” for 2 days, she went to an urgent care where she was given a prescription Oseltamivir and provided with a note to excuse her absence from work. Soon, she was feeling a little better and, despite having “horrible coughing fits,” she decided to go to work.  Her charge nurse encouraged her … [Read more...]

I recently read an article by Michelle Podlesni of the National Nurses in Business Association titled “Why Nurses Need a Plan B and More in Today’s Marketplace.”  She talked about 3 big mergers that have occurred. CVS is buying Aetna Insurance.  There are rumors of Walmart buying Humana.  CHI and Dignity Health are combining, and Ascension and Providence St. Joseph were also merging. Given these huge corporate mergers, there will be less competition and less healthcare institutions in the … [Read more...]

In my last article, I discussed the shortage of nurses, but this time, I’m going to talk about the shortage of physicians and nurse practitioners. It is estimated that in California, by the year 2025, that State will be short about 4,700 primary care physicians.  If a physician is not available, people take seek care from the emergency rooms for routine visits. In an Los Angeles Times article titled “California Doesn’t Have Enough Doctors, And This Bad Law Isn’t Helping,” (click on article … [Read more...]

In September 2017, the Governor of Illinois signed into law a bill that goes into effect January 21st, 2018, which allows nurse practitioners to have full practice authority in that State.  The law finally passed because of cooperation from the Medical Association and it’s been a long time coming.  Now, qualified nurse practitioners in Illinois with at least 4,000 hours of nursing and 250 hours of continued training can do everything under the scope of practice without the supervision or … [Read more...]