The Legislative and Clinical Practice Environment in Maryland
 

The Practice Environment in Maryland

The practice environment for nurse practitioners in Maryland is highly influenced by three dynamic components:  clinical practice, professional relationships, and the political system.  Each of these three components interact with the other to create the milieu in which the NP role has developed.

Clinical Practice:
The clinial practice of nurse practitioners in Maryland has been influenced by the masters degree educational programs that began early in the 1970s and set high standards for entry and even higher standards for graduation.  Early graduates were from adult, pediatric, or geriatric programs and provided indepth specialized education. The more generalist family nurse practitioner programs were implemented beginning in the mid 1990s.  Nurse practitioners did not practice with protocols but developed critical thinking, excellent assessment skills, the ability to craft broad differential diagnoses and treatment strategies based on the latest guidelines, consensus statements and evidence-based recomendations.  The nurse practitioners have the legal authority to form independent practices but most practice as part of the healthcare team.

Professional Relationships:
Nurse practitioners and their physician colleagues have had cooperative and collaborative practices at some of the best health care sites in the nation.  NPs work in almost any site in which health care can be provided--from prison and occupational health centers, to Johns Hopkins University and the National Institutes of Health.  Nurse practitioners meet the same practice standards as physicians within these health care settings.  But the research rich environment is influenced by nurses and influences nurse practitioners with the diffusion of new knowledge from study findings.

Political System:
The day to day practice of nurse practitioners is also influenced by the political environment.  Nurse practitioners in Maryland have been politically organized, legislatively active, and widely effective.  NPs have returned to the legislature time and time again to wage strong campaigns to increase the NP role so that they might more fully advocate for patients, increase access to health care, and stablize the NP role. Click here for the most recent legislative report. Professional lobbyists who are especially knowledgeably about the NP role have facilitating this legislative success.  Click here for an overview of lobbyists Bill Pitcher and Julia P. Worcester.The Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland advocates for all NPs.  We invite all nurse practitioners in Maryland to join NPAM and help in supporting the NP role.  The burden to advocate for Maryland NPs is lighter when more people are involved, politically active, and providing financial support.

If you are not a member of NPAM, we appeal to you to help us finance the legislative efforts of the organization through a donation to the Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland Political Action Committee (PAC).  Please note:  Maryland Board of Elections requires that PAC donations come from individuals and not employers.