The start of the new year means the start of full practice authority for nurse practices (NP) in Massachusetts. Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation that went into effect on January 1, 2021 that allows NPs to practice independently in Massachusetts. The state currently had an emergency executive order in place that temporarily expanded NPs scope of practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. This new legislation makes those rules permanent.

Today’s MSPs are taking on larger volumes of work and scopes of responsibility than ever before, often without seeing equivalent gains in respect and standing. It’s important to show leadership that you have goals and performance data that speak to your progress in achieving them. Possible focus areas include:

Establishing a structure for reviewing ongoing professional practice evaluation (OPPE) reports can be challenging, especially given that the process requires the resource-intensive and time-consuming task of interpreting data. The medical staff drives the OPPE process; however, medical staff leaders often do not have adequate time to review every single report with the necessary level of detail. Effective OPPE review processes involve the administrative department(s) that support OPPE, such as the medical staff services department, performance improvement (PI) department, and/or the quality department.

Work closely with clinicians and other staff as you determine how you triage and separate your COVID-19 and influenza patients as the flu season escalates. Managing both kinds of highly contagious respiratory infections will pose unique challenges, predict experts, especially if they occur alongside other disasters.

We continue our discussion on planning a move toward a just culture to improve patient safety. Last month we covered setting goals, educating the public, and identifying stakeholders and champions to raise awareness of your move to a just culture. Once you've completed those steps, there are a few more steps to take on your way to a just culture.