WSNA celebrates Nurse Practitioner Week

As a nurse practitioner and President of the Washington State Nurses Association, I am excited to celebrate National Nurse Practitioner Week!

Nurse Practitioners represent a critical component of our provider workforce in Washington state. They provide high quality healthcare in both inpatient and outpatient clinical areas. While I am proud to work in a state that allows NPs to practice to the full extent of their licensure and training, more needs to be done to improve the awareness of the NP role and the value they bring to our healthcare system. One area of concern is that NPs still do not get reimbursed for their services at the same rate as physicians, even though they’re providing the same services. This makes it harder for the many NP-owned practices that are struggling to stay afloat in both urban and rural areas.

WSNA is an organization that represents and advocates for all nurses in this state, including NPs. WSNA will continue to support efforts to promote the NP role in Washington state. This week we celebrate and recognize this important group within the nursing profession!