Tanya:

The laws are better in New Mexico for nurse practitioners because they don't interfere with our scope of practice, they allow us to work to a full capacity; Which is what we were educated and clinically trained to do, so it's really nice to work out here.

So there's nurse practitioners in that clinic over there and then there's nurse practitioners in this Clinic over here and that building over there houses another few nurse practitioners.

This is where we've been for the last seven years providing care for kids. We've expanded our services by bringing in other nurse practitioners. So we actually have a women's health nurse practitioner that has joined us and a family nurse practitioner that has joined us and they provide care for our patients. We do preventative Services from vaccines to developmental screenings to diagnosing and treating illnesses.

States with full practice authority have an advantage because they're able to recruit Quality Health Care Providers and it benefits the patients. Unfortunately due to the bureaucratic red tape nurse practitioners like me choose to practice elsewhere. There is a solution to giving patients access to care, patients just need lawmakers to help them.

LaDonna:

Prior to the passage of full practice authority I never really considered having my own practice, the risk is too great. You are financing a small business with capital and that is usually reflective on your family's future. If you're under physician contract they may choose not to, or be unable to sign that contract and you would be unable to see your patients the next day. Nebraska enacted full practice authority in 2015, and what that meant was that patients could directly access NP Care at NP Services; The kind of care that I provide In 2016 I made the decision to open my practice my husband and I took a big leap of faith. We refinanced our house, took out a line of credit, and then I
went to work so it's really amazing to see how much we've grown.

This is one of our workspaces.

So in 2018 my friend and nurse practitioner Amy Arent called me and said you need me, and I said I do need you, I'm growing! And we partnered up, renamed the clinic, got bigger space, and we today now have six nurse practitioners and over 20 employees. We also see over 70 patients a da. Full practice authority allows us to take care of our patients, and we see patients through their lifespan, we see all ages. There are so many needs for primary care in this community and others, and nurse practitioners are ready to meet those needs. I want to thank Nebraska policy makers for passing full practice authority so I can give better care to my patients. And I would urge other states to pass this legislation to improve access to care in their communities.

Tanya:

It actually saddens me quite a bit to know that I cannot do what I am doing here in New Mexico in the state of Texas because it's so needed over there. But until the law changes I'm going to continue to function over here in New Mexico.