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  • Title: The nurse practitioner in family planning services: law and practice.
    Author: Roemer R.
    Journal: Fam Plann Popul Rep; 1977 Jun; 6(3):28-34. PubMed ID: 12259979.
    Abstract:
    Before 1971, when Idaho became the 1st state to authorize expanded scope of functions for registered nurses, nearly all states made it illegal for any nurse to perform diagnosis or prescribe treatment, creating an ambiguity as more and more nurses were equipped by education and technology to perform new tasks. Today 30 states have liberalized the scope of nursing functions, making it possible for nurses and nurse-midwives to assume, among other tasks, family planning functions. A table gives the status of legislation and regulations governing nurse practitioners and nurse-midwives in each state. The area of greatest controversy is the prescription of oral contraceptives. In some states it is allowed under doctor's supervision or in rural areas or in areas where clear need exists for a nurse to dispense such medication. Usually this dispensing is limited to a single course of treatment. Nurse-midwives are rapidly being accepted as extensions of scarce medical facilities. Generally nurse-midwives are authorized to provide prenatal and postpartum care, to handle normal deliveries, and do family planning work including fitting diaphragms and inserting and removing IUDs. An innovation is the family planning nurse practitioner. Several courses for such practitioners have been set up across the U.S. Graduates may, with medical direction, perform bimanual pelvic examinations and breast examinations, take blood pressure, prescribe contraception, fit diaphragms, insert IUDs, examine vaginal secretions microscopically, and refer patients with problems to physicians. In a California program both registered and nonregistered nurses are being trained as women's health specialists who may make routine examinations in both pregnant and nonpregnant women and give family planning advice. Non-RN family planning specialists being trained include licensed vocational nurses, baccalaureate degree holders in nonnursing fields, and qualified persons with less formal education. The 24-week course was authorized under a California State Department of Health demonstration program. While there may be serious concern that nurse-practitioners or other trained personnel may be used in place of physicians in poor neighborhoods and rural areas, others feel that use of such personnel will help make family planning and well-baby services more generally available and conserve valuable physician time for those cases which need greater skill and training.
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