Tammy Ross College of Nursing-PMHNP, Walden University NRNP 6675-10 Care Across
Tammy Ross
College of Nursing-PMHNP, Walden University
NRNP 6675-10 Care Across the Life Span II
Professor: Dr. Reyes
May 30th, 2022
Obtaining Certification and License for PMHNP in Virginia
Within the state of Virginia to become certified and licensed as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) an individual must complete an accredited graduate program in nursing and hold an active RN license. According to American Nurses Credentialing Center [ANCC] (n.d.) the individual must have completed the required post master’s certification for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner from an approved program and the minimum of 500 clinical supervised hours. For the state of Virginia licenses, completion of the initial application from the ANCC along with submitting additional required documents as proof of eligibility to test, including an official transcripts and validation of education form. After approval has been granted, the individual would need to pay a fee to test, wait for testing approval, schedule exam date, and successfully pass the ANCC exam. The fee to test can range from for non-members $395.00 to $220.00 depending on the type of membership the individual has (ANCC., n.d.). This information is important to know to help with understanding process and fees that can present as barriers to practice.
Application Process for Certification in Virginia and Website
To obtain a license after the individual has passed the exam from the American Nurses Credentialing Center [ANCC] for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) the information must be shared with the Virginia Department of Health Professions Board of Nursing [VA Dept of Health Professions BON] (2021). As this is the applicant’s responsibility to assure this occurs. Information the individual will need to submit to the VA Dept of Health Professions BON for the Nurse Practitioner licenses, would be an official copy of credentialing from the ANCC. When submitting this application there is also a fee of $125.00. This process assists the Board of Nursing in issuing and acknowledging the individuals additional license upgrade. In Virginia the website link to the Board of Nursing is https://www.dhp.virginia.gov/Boards/Nursing/index.html in which resources can be found for practitioners such as applications and other information.
Scope of Practice for Virginia and State Practice Agreement
According to the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners [VCNP] (2022) the scope of practice for NPs is regulated jointly by the Board of Nursing and Medicine. Within the established practice agreement allows for NPs to apply for full practice authority after working full-time for two years in Virginia being supervised by a physician. According to the Virginia Department of Health Professions Board of Nursing (2021) the changes in recent law as of July 2021 allows NPs to work autonomous as long as the two year criteria of being managed by a physician is accomplished.
DEA License and Prescription Monitoring Program
The DEA licenses application cost is $ 888.00, which must be renewed every 3 years it’s important to meet all the requirements prior to completing the application as the fee is non- refundable (Diversion Control Division, 2022). Therefore, if there are any questions in the application process it’s important to contact the DEA directly for clarification in the process. In Virginia there is a Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), in which providers registered with to track control substances frequency and potential signs of substance abuse by patients. Mentioned by Keith et al. (2018) the PMP also gives information such as who prescribed the medication and pharmacy where the fills have occurred.
Controlled-Substance Prescriptive Authority and Drug Schedule
For the state of Virginia Nurse Practitioners (NPs) have prescriptive authority to prescribe, administer, dispense, and procure controlled substances schedule II, III, IV, and V (Diversion Control Division, 2022). There is a $75.00 fee to obtain the initial prescriptive authority. When NPs desire to prescribe buprenorphine there must be a wavier obtained prior from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or an established practice agreement with a medical physician who has been waivered (Commonwealth of Virginia., 2020). There is much to consider when preparing to practice as an NP.
Summary of Barriers to Practice
In recapping the information within this post, its important as a Nurse Practitioner (NP) to make sure that as an individual you are meeting all the requirements from the boards that regulate practice license. Once I become licensed as PMHNP I must remain cognizant of the requirement to collaborate with a physician for at least two years full-time if at some point in the future if I would like to go independently. While in other states there may be no waiting period to enter practice as an autonomous provider. Mentioned by Peterson (2017) barriers within the NP practice exist when regulations that are in place aren’t clearly defining the scope of practice, as variations can be rather different depending on the state the NP resides in. Another barrier for the NP could be the cost of all the additional licensure requirements. Along with having to work under a physician for the first two years, as a provider maybe reluctant to be willing to offer oversite of the new PMHNP. As this could be hindrance for the new PMHNP or contribute to a new PMHNP moving to a different state that is less restrictive. I was also surprised at the cost of the DEA license and all the other fees, that occur once passing the American Nurses Credentialing Center exam. As I continue to have the goal of becoming a PMHNP there remains much to consider within the process along with gaining additional knowledge of the scope of practice.
References
American Nurses Credentialing Center. (n.d.). Psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner
(across the lifespan) certification (PMHNP-BC). https://www.nursingworld.org/ourcertifications/psychiatric-mental-health-nur
Commonwealth of Virginia. (2020). Regulations for Prescriptive Authority Nurse
Practitioners.https://apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/webforms2/spring/main?execution=e1s2
Keith, D. A., Shannon, T. A., & Kulich, R. (2018). The prescription monitoring program data:
what it can tell you. The Journal of the American Dental Association, 149(4), 266-272.
Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners. (2022). Partners for a Healthier Tomorrow.
NP Practice Information
Virginia Department of Health Professions Board of Nursing. (2021).
Application Wizard Nurse Practitioner. Board of Nursing.https://www.license.dhp.virginia.gov/apply/Forms/Nursing/NP_Instr
The post Tammy Ross
College of Nursing-PMHNP, Walden University
NRNP 6675-10 Care Across appeared first on blitzarchive.com.