Regulations in the past have been effective in transforming the role of the professional nurse and safeguarding the public. As health care continues to transform, so must the nursing regulations in order to insure accountability and safety to the public as well as providing flexible, rational, and cost effective healthcare systems. In this forum, two questions chosen from the reading to rationalize and share my opinionated view are discussed in the following paragraphs. First, “are regulatory bodies truly accountable to the public”? (Milstead, 2016). In the state of Kentucky (KY), KY Board of Nursing (KBN) is the governmental agency that facilitates the regulations set forth by the Nurse Practice Act of Kentucky, KRS Chapter 314. The board’s job description is “to protect public health and welfare by developing and enforcing state laws governing the safe practice of nursing” (Commonwealth of Kentucky, 2017). KBN’s oversight has been a valuable resource for my nursing profession and I feel they live up to their job description. Throughout my career I have had situations that have spawn in which I have had to call upon KBN to render an accurate account of regulations. For instance, as facilities are hard press to fill short …show more content…
Those regulations are implemented by several branches. In all these branches, there are influencers from organizations, lobbyist, and special interest groups. Not all of them are promoting effective health outcomes or public safety. Milstead cited the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as all powers not specifically “vested by the federal government are reserved for the states” (Milstead, 2016). Even our state government is influenced by the federal branch of government. For instances, state ran insurance programs such as Medicaid is a primary example of such influences as federal government withholds funding if states do not comply with federal