Critical DEADLINE!

YOU MUST ACT NOW to push Independent Practice and Controlled Substance Prescribing FORWARD for NPs. If this gets shot down in the first committee meeting, we are OUT for another year. And next year could be a whole new landdscape in Tallahassee with elections in Fall. 

Please email and call the following Democratic state Representatives. Remind them of their previous commitments to help nurses serve the patient needs of our state. Also, please urge them to vote in favor of Proposed Committee Bill SCHCW1  and put patients before special interests:

Rep. Dwight Dudley (D) St. Petersburg (850) 717-5068 Dwight.Dudley@myfloridahouse.gov

Rep. Mia Jones (M) (D) Jacksonville (850) 717-5014 mia.jones@myfloridahouse.gov

Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez (J) (D) Miami (850) 717-5112 Jose.Rodriguez@myfloridahouse.gov

Rep. Elaine Schwartz (D) Hollywood (850) 717-5099 elaine.schwartz@myfloridahouse.gov

Rep. Richard Stark (D) Weston (850) 717-5104 Richard.Stark@myfloridahouse.gov

Rep. Perry E. Thurston (D) Fort Lauderdale (850) 717-5094 perry.thurston@myfloridahouse.gov

Invite your patients to do the same. Post it on Facebook if you have a page. Email every contact you know. Contacts should be made by THIS MONDAY!! 2/17/14. Elected officials REALLY do count these opinions when they vote.

For a quick summary of the bill, read this Bill Analysis by FNA.

*-* I personally chose to call all of the above representative. I called all of them in under 15 minutes. Most had voice mail where I simply left a detailed message. In the instances where I spoke with a staffer, they were completely aware of the issue as they are being bombarded with calls by physicians against the proposed bill. Their argument? Not enough clinical hours in our education to ensure patient safety. If you read the Bill Analysis, you will see before an NP can gain "Independent" status, she must have worked full time, for 3 years in a supervised rerlationship with a physcian. THAT is is the equivalent of a residency. THIS BILL ADDRESSES the medical establishment's best argument against our independence. 

You'll all have a chuckle over this: The phone responses are mostly docs, but almost all of the emails are from NPs.