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Ohio NP Practice             I currently live in the state of Ohio

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Ohio NP Practice

            I currently live in the state of Ohio. Ohio is considered a reduced practice state for nurse practitioners ("AANP," n.d.). In Ohio, nurse practitioners are required to have a standard care agreement with at least one medical doctor. This is a collaborative agreement that must be reported to the board of nursing. This collaborating physician should be practicing in the same specialty, so for myself, it would need to be a psychiatrist ("OAAPN," n.d.)

Ohio NP Licensure Process

            In Ohio, there is a specific application process for nurse practitioners. After paying g the application fee and submitting the application, the school must send official transcripts to the board of nursing, I then must pass the national certification exam through the ANCC ("Nursing Ohio," n.d.).  I have learned that the application can be completed through the state nursing board website by applying for an endorsement on my active RN license. The Ohio board of nursing website is https://nursing.ohio.gov/.

Prescriptive Authority

            Nurse practitioners in Ohio must register with the DEA and obtain a DEA number to prescribe controlled substances. Nurse practitioners may prescribe schedule III-V medications, however, there are specific rules that allow nurse practitioners to prescribe schedule II medications if the requirements are met ("Legislative Service Commission," n.d.). For instance, if I work for a community mental health agency, I will be allowed to prescribe schedule II medications ("Legislative Service Commission," n.d. I am already familiar with the OARRS program which is Ohio’s controlled substance monitoring program. Prescribers are required to review OARRS reports on all patients who they prescribe a controlled substance to. Prescribers must be enrolled in this program. 

Barriers to Independent Practice

            Currently, there is some active legislation in Ohio pushing for nurse practitioners to gain independent practice authority. In the proceedings of these bills, many doctors have spoken out against nurse practitioners obtaining independent practice authority. In my opinion, most states will eventually become independent practice states and it is only a matter of time until Ohio joins the list. I do expect doctors to continue to fight against this as it could be detrimental to their employment opportunities. On a personal level, I feel that with our growing population this is needed, especially in psychiatry. Even living in a city with 300,000 people, I have witnessed how hard it can be for mental health agencies and hospitals to find a psychiatrist to fill a void.