Public Policy Platform Legislative Update - ALERT

April 6, 2023

Good news! We have an APRN Scope Of Practice in the SC House of Representatives 

House Bill 4272 was introduced Wednesday, April 5^th, 2023, and promptly referred to Committee on Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs (3M). We are very happy to have Representative Mark Smith as the primary sponsor and Representative Gary Brewer as the lead cosponsor. You can read the full bill here, H.4272

Please reach out to your House member in your district and ask support for this bill. Don’t forget to use the letter template which you can upload to your SC Representative’s page or send in the mail.

March 22, 2023

Update: There are currently four (3 House and 1 Senate) Workplace Violence Bills that have been introduced this legislative session and are awaiting action in the Committee House Judiciary. You can read more about each one by clicking on the bill number.(H. 3033, H. 3175, & H. 3840, S.432 )

March 2, 2023

Action Alert: Contact your Legislator to support Senate Bill 553 and let your voice be heard.  

Click here for suggested letter

February 22, 2023

Senate Bill 553 was introduced and read for the first time by bill sponsor, Senator Tom Davis before being referred to the Medical Affairs Committee Tuesday, February 21st.

The purpose of S 553 is to amend the current SC State Practice Act, “to provide scope of practice of medical acts for a licensed APRN, to provide a means for a certified nurse midwife to obtain an APRN license, to define full practice authority, to define graduate registered nurse-midwife..." The bill is more comprehensive and includes removing practice agreements and the requirement of collaborating physicians. S 553 also includes removing barriers to practice for physician assistants (PA).

Remember, the purpose of the legislation is to remove impediments to patient care and to continue to increase access to care. AHEC workforce data indicates that APRNs are maintaining and “saving” primary care in non-Metropolitan areas. This legislation will remove impediments.
 
To read the bill in its entirety, please follow the link: Scope of Practice Bill

SCNA will provide update on the progress and how you can support this legislation.

All documents are available for download and printing. https://www.scnurses.org/resource/resmgr/talkpoints/Talking_Point_Documents_Feb_.pdf

Purpose

South Carolina Nurses Association serves as a collective voice for all nurses in the state of South Carolina. The public policy platform will serve as the advocacy arm for impacting the nursing profession and practice with a positive impact on the nursing community. The Legislative Committee works to identify key issues, provide viable possible solutions, influence, and build buy-in with key stakeholders and decision-makers. This public-facing platform outlines SCNA’s stance on key issues for nurses across the state.

Nursing Shortage

and Retention

Workplace
Violence

Nursing
Education

The shortage of available healthcare professionals coupled with growing demand makes the importance of safe staffing even more critical. Nurses are working longer hours and being assigned too many patients which is having an impact on care and safety. South Carolina should enact policies to empower nurses to be involved in mandating appropriate staffing. Nursing salaries must be evaluated and increased to maintain a competent workforce. South Carolina is ranked 38th out of the 50 states for RN in salaries and 48th for APRN salaries. This is a huge issue in retention and the goal should be to discourage nurses from becoming traveling nurses or relocating to another state to practice.

Nurses experience greater risk of workplace violence from patients and other individuals; as much as five times higher in the healthcare environment than the national average. These alarming numbers both exacerbate the current staffing crisis and ultimately jeopardize patient safety and quality outcomes. Issues include: sharing de-identified data, public facing data, de-escalation training, anti-violence provisions, and proper reporting of violence by healthcare systems. A safe harbor should be created for nurses to formally report any workplace violence without retaliation or retribution. To learn more, visit the SCNA Workplace Violence Toolkit.

Investing in nursing programs and career development is essential. There are not enough faculty to accept all the applicants and potential candidates It is crucial that South Carolina invest in the growing nursing shortage by creating task forces to develop further educational programs in order to increase enrollment statewide. Investments should also support far greater diversity in faculty and admissions to ensure a future workforce that is truly reflective of our communities. Increases in faculty salaries, professional development, nursing scholarships, and preceptor incentives are an imperative.

Burnout and
Mental Health

Advancing Full
Practice Authority

The above factors have led to chronic burnout which has caused a mental health crisis among nurses and other health care professionals. Prior to the pandemic nurses were already frustrated and stressed with unstable work environments. As the pandemic reached critical proportions, the impact led to poor staffing ratios, an increase in workloads, and increased frustration in their workplaces. With increased self-reported burnout and mental health needs by nurses, the need for better working environments for nurses is a top priority for all clinical settings.

There are four advanced practice roles in the state of South Carolina, all of which are licensed as Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN). Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, and Clinical Nurse Specialists all require a minimum of a graduate degree (master’s or post-master’s). There are many barriers to practice for each of these advanced practice nursing roles as evidenced in the current State Nurse Practice Act, SECTION 40-33-34

Full Practice Authority (FPA) can best be described as the authorization of APRNs to evaluate patients, diagnose, order, and interpret diagnostic tests to initiate and manage appropriate medical/nursing interventions and treatments. This includes prescribing medications, as granted by the state board of nursing. It is imperative to remove obstacles and barriers that result in poor patient care and outcome, most notably for those in underserved communities. By advancing Full Practice Authority (FPA), APRNs can meet the unmet need that cause delays and deny access for many patients across South Carolina.