The quality of services offered by nurse practitioners can be reduced by limitations imposed upon their practice by legislations in a given state. Each state adopts one of three practice policies for nurse practitioners which include: full practice, reduced practice, and restricted practice. Connecticut operates the full practice policy. This allows nurse practitioners to practice solely after having been part of a compulsory collaborative practice agreement with another health care provider, usually a physician.
The collaborative practice must last for the first three years of practice in Connecticut and must not be less than 2000 hours, whether or not you already practice as an APRN in another state. CNPs are only allowed to come into the fullness of their full practice after this phase is completed.
Full practice puts every skill at the CNPs disposal to use thereby maximizing the use of their potential and their ability to influence the effectiveness of the health sector. This level of practice is what is encouraged by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) as this will enable CNPs to contribute immensely to wellness by encouraging healthy living and preventive medicine practices.
RNs and NPs can lend their voices to the case for the implementation of full practice in all states in the U.S. by taking part in advocacy exercises by associations like AANP and pioneering or contributing to conversations on the subject.