Clinicians and researchers now have a new and simple way to find appropriate instruments to evaluate the cognitive status of older patients in the primary care setting, through a searchable database from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health. The database, available at www.nia.nih.gov/research/cognitive-instrument, contains detailed information about more than 100 published instruments for detecting Alzheimer’s disease and other types of cognitive impairment. Full Story

In a recent Wall Street Journal Article, Angela Golden, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners argues for the right of nurse practitioners to do their work without a physician's supervision. Opposing efforts to expand the independence of nurse practitioners is Reid Blackwelder, president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Full Story

States with the fewest restrictions on nurse practitioners’ scope of practice had 2.5 times more patients receiving primary care from NPs than did the most restrictive states, according to a UTMB study. The study looked at the growth in care provided by NPs from 1998 to 2010 using state records and national Medicare data, reported Nurse.com. The researchers found that the number of Medicare patients nationwide seeing NPs as their primary care provider increased from 0.2% in 1998 to 2.9% in 2010. (In Alaska, the rate was nearly 15%.) Full Story

The Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital are excited to announce that the Nurses' Health Study is growing. Previous cohorts taught us much of what we currently know about how diet and lifestyle can affect women's risk of developing cancer and other serious health conditions. The goal is to enroll 100,000 female nurses into a new web-based study! Click here to learn more.

Texas Governor Rick Perry has signed a new law that will allow nurse practitioners in Texas to take on a bigger role in providing primary care. The new law takes effect in November. It allows nurse practitioners, who have advanced training and a master's degree, to take on more primary-care responsibilities, things like treating common colds and infections. Nurse practitioners will still work under the supervision of a doctor, but the doctor doesn't need to be physically in the same building. The law also gives nurse practitioners and physician assistants more authority to write prescriptions for patients reported KUHF FM radio. Full Story

The American Nurses Association (ANA) has recommended to a federal agency that health insurers seeking to offer plans on state health insurance exchanges must include a certain number of advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) in each plan’s network of health care providers for the plans to qualify. Full Story

A new resource available online from HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) gives hospitals four evidence-based strategies to engage patients and families in their care. The field-tested strategies outlined in AHRQ’s new Guide to Patient and Family Engagement in Hospital Safety and Quality can help hospitals make care better and safer by bridging the communication gaps among patients and families and their health care providers. Full Story

The American Nurses Association is issuing a Call for Applications for both a Steering Committee and an Advisory Committee to undertake the revision of one of its foundational documents, the Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. The anticipated timeframe for completion of the revision is November 2014 to prepare for consideration by the ANA Board of Directors in December 2014. The Steering Committee will meet at least one to two times per month via conference call starting in October 2013 for approximately two hours in addition to email dialogue. In addition, it may be necessary for the Steering Committee to attend a two day meeting at ANA headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland in January or February 2014. The Advisory Committee will dialogue via email and will need to participate on two conference calls in 2014. Click here for information about how the Steering and Advisory Committees function within ANA's Professional Issues Panel Framework.

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is Accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.