Advancing Advanced Practice Nurses in Illinois: Challenges in the Land of the American Medical Association

This presentation will utilize the case study of the Illinois House Bill 421 (2015) which introduced the legislated changes entailed in eliminating the requirement of nurses to have a legislated physician collaborative practice agreement. Alternatively, granting the ability for nurses to not have to have a legislated collaborative agreement with a physician would give more independent freedom for APN’s to practice independently. Although this bill did not pass as fully written in the last legislative session, the steps utilized to push this concept further in incremental steps illustrates the key elements in the political process needed in order to lower the opposition’s resistance to change.

Specifically, the nursing community organized a campaign that involved multiple strategies across the state. Key to these efforts are the following considerations: (1) framing the issue and providing the evidence to substantiate the claim, (2) communicating the issue in a concise and compelling manner, (3) capturing the attention of influencers, (4) Providing “hands-on” experiences that tell the story, (5) offering options that draw the target power brokers into the discussion to take it to the next level.

Given that the political power of opposing physician groups in the state is very strong, it is important to appreciate the steps involved in how to frame an issue in a very “hostile to nurses” environment in order to portray the time, effort and tenacity that is involved in making the case for using evidence to its best advantage in a political arena. Coalition building and nurse engagement is key to such outcomes and is essential to build support in a sustained manner.

The forum organized by the University of Illinois College of Nursing to bring together nurses from the Chicagoland area along with insurers, university leaders, and nurse experts will be described and discussed in terms of model, outcomes and longer term impact on bringing this issue to the forefront of those directly and indirectly involved in legislative issues.

Implications for policy consciousness and engagement within a college of nursing setting will also be discussed.

Lessons learned and next steps will be discussed.