I decided to focus on Michigan (where I live) and the neighboring state of Wisconsin, it is a possibility one day we may relocate. As long as regulatory requirements differ from state to state, each state border represents an obstacle to portability—potentially preventing access to professionals and access to care (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, n.d.). Wisconsin and Michigan are both located within region five.I first wanted to explore the practicing regulations for both states and what that means as a practitioner. Michigan’s Board of Nursing (B.O.N.) is the regulatory agency for the state in which I reside and plan to practice as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Michigan’s Regulatory Structure is considered Restricted Practice, State practice and licensure laws restrict the ability of N.P.s to engage in at least one element of N.P. Practice.
State law requires career-long supervision, delegation, or team management by another health provider for the N.P. to provide patient care (Michigan, 2020). Wisconsin Board of Nursing (B.O.N.), is the regulatory structure for our sister state. Wisconsin’s Regulatory Structure is considered Reduced Practice, State practice and licensure laws reduce the ability of N.P.s to engage in at least one element of N.P. Practice. State law requires a career-long regulated collaborative agreement with another health provider for the N.P. to provide patient care, or it limits the set of one or more elements of N.P. Practice (Michigan, 2020). After reading more into both regulations, it is my understanding in both states as a Nurse Practitioner that I would not be allowed to open my practice. I will always need to be in collaboration with a physician. Neither Wisconsin nor Michigan will recognize a Nurse Practitioner as a primary care provider. Both will allow a Nurse Practitioner to prescribe Schedules II-V controlled substances if delegated by a physician. For example, in either to state, if I were to see a patient that was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and wanted to prescribe Ritalin, I would have to have my collaborating physician review the chart consult before prescribing the medication. The second regulation I would like to compare is the ability to have a Medical Staff Membership. According to the A.A.N.P., in Wisconsin per rule WI ADC s DHS 124.12 Nurse Practitioners are not permitted to join medical staffs. In the state of Michigan per the A.A.N.P. M.C.L.A. 331.1303 Each board of trustees and subsidiary board may select nurse practitioners for membership on their medical team. I was surprised when I read this regulation: Nurse Practitioners in our hospitals here in Michigan and round with the providers. The cost reduction in medical services alone, I feel, would be substantial enough to disseminate this regulation. A Nurse practitioner working with a physician to see patients in the hospital can lead to more efficient and quality care and provide decreased wait times for patients.