Study: Abortions Are Safe When Performed By Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Certified Nurse Midwives (2023)

FAQs

Can physician assistants perform abortions? ›

Nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives and physicians' assistants who complete specified training are now able to perform abortions in California. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the measure into law Wednesday.

When California enacted AB 890 in 2020, lawmakers created a pathway for nurse practitioners (NPs) to treat patients independently (without physician supervision). Legislation (SB 1375) now pending in Sacramento would permit independent nurse practitioners to perform aspiration abortions without physician supervision.

Registered nurses (RNs) provide abortion care in hospitals and clinics and support abortion care through sexual health education and family planning care in sexual health clinics, schools and family practice.

Nurses and midwives provide technical and psychosocial care to women who seek abortions. Governments and regulatory bodies could safely extend their scope of practice to increase women's access to safe abortions.

The plain language of the Reproductive Privacy Act permits health care professionals to perform abortions under the supervision of a licensed physician, and there is nothing in the Reproductive Privacy Act that requires this supervision to be in person.

The majority of states require that a licensed physician be the provider performing an abortion procedure. However, a few states allow other advanced practice clinicians to perform abortions.

In 2013, California passed a law allowing nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and physician assistants to perform abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy — but only if they completed special training and were under the supervision of a doctor.

They then go through additional education and training to become licensed to do more throughout the treatment process. Essentially, a nurse practitioner can do everything a doctor can do, although they are not able to perform surgical procedures.

The NP is authorized to perform any and all standardized procedures, without direct or immediate supervision of a physician, except where otherwise mentioned in this document. V. Evaluation: Per Medical Staff rules, regulations and bylaws.

The ICM notes that authorised and well-educated midwives can provide competent and safe abortion-related services, and many governments have modified their laws and policies to empower midwives to provide comprehensive abortion services.

What are the nursing management of abortion? ›

For abortion or elective termination, the nursing plan of care for clients includes assessing biopsychosocial status, giving appropriate instruction/information, promoting coping strategies and emotional support, and preventing postprocedural complications.

Nurses and midwives provide technical and psychosocial care to women who seek abortions. Governments and regulatory bodies could safely extend their scope of practice to increase women's access to safe abortions.

Nurse midwives provide care to women from adolescence through menopausal years. For pregnant women, they provide care during prenatal visits, attend the birth, and provide care after the baby is born. Nurse midwives have similar roles to OB/GYNs but focus on natural techniques for childbirth and reproductive care.

In Washington State, physicians (medical doctors) and Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners (ARNPs) can perform in-clinic abortion procedures and prescribe pills for a medication abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy (weeks 1-13).

In Pennsylvania, an NP cannot practice without physician supervision, and the state limits the range of medicines they can prescribe.

NPs are recognized as primary care providers in Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, an NP may prescribe drugs, devices and Schedule II-V controlled substances as outlined in a written collaboration agreement with a physician.

Unfortunately, only 14 percent of practicing OBGYNs provide abortion care. As a profession, our words and actions don't match. I think there's a multitude of reasons for that. One is the stigma associated with providing abortion care in some parts of the country.

It is one of the most common procedures in the U.S., even more common than appendectomies, and The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends all medical schools teach abortion, though students can opt out and in-person experience isn't required.

How many doctors perform abortions in the US? ›

But the authors of a research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine have come up with a number: Roughly 3550 clinicians provide procedural and medication abortions, while 22,001 manage pregnancy loss with the same procedures and medications.

As another example, California passed legislation in 2013 that allows APRNs, PAs, and certified nurse midwives who complete specified training to perform first trimester abortions under a physician's supervision.

Who may perform an abortion in California? Doctors, licensed nurses/midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants with proper training can perform abortions in California.

California's Nurse Practitioner Prescribing Laws

Nurse practitioners in California may order, administer, dispense and prescribe medications including schedule II-V controlled substances. Yes, NP's in this great state are allowed to prescribe the good stuff– within a collaborative practice agreement.

The simple answer is yes. A tattoo is unlikely to disqualify you from working as a nurse, though there are some important considerations to keep in mind.

During legislative debate, the California Medical Association said nurse practitioners have less training than physicians, so allowing them to practice independently could lessen the quality of care and even pose a risk to patients.

An MD can work independently, while a PA must always work under the supervision of a doctor. PAs can't perform surgeries, but they can assist an MD during the procedure. However, an MD and a PA both can: Develop patient treatment plans.

Physician assistants train using the medical model, similar to physicians, which means they focus on the testing, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease that the patient has. Nurse practitioners train on the nursing model, which means they focus on the testing, diagnosis, and treatment of the patient with the disease.

A PA may perform surgical procedures requiring other forms of anesthesia if authorized by the practice agreement and only when the supervising physician is “immediately available” as defined by Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations section 1399.541.

There can be a lot of confusion about the scope of practice for different health care providers. When you see a nurse practitioner prescribing your medication, diagnosing you, and doing procedures, you may wonder, "is a nurse practitioner a doctor?” The short answer is no.

What can midwives not do? ›

Also, Michigan restricts APRNs, including midwives, from performing first trimester surgical abortions, even though it is included in the International Confederation of Midwives competencies and is safer than other procedures midwives perform. Medication abortion prescribing is restricted to physicians.

You can book an appointment with your GP or directly with your midwife as soon as you find out you're pregnant. Your GP surgery or a children's centre can put you in touch with your nearest midwifery service. You can find your nearest children's centre through your local council.

Abortion is the medical term for a pregnancy loss before 20 weeks of gestational age. The types of spontaneous abortion include threatened, inevitable, incomplete, complete, septic, and missed abortion[1].

Septic abortion describes any type of abortion (intentional termination or miscarriage), due to an upper genital tract bacterial infection including the inflammation of the endometrium during or after 20 weeks of gestation.

Post-abortion care has been identified as a very important component of secondary prevention. It should involve provision of contraception, counseling about STI prevention and use of barrier methods, prophylactic antibiotics, and counseling about adverse complications from the procedure.

Risk factors for having a spontaneous abortion include advanced maternal age, previous pregnancy loss, maternal chronic disease, infections, and structural uterine abnormalities.

Nurses should have the right to refuse to take part in an abortion based on moral objection. However, once the pregnancy is terminated, the nurse should no longer be able to refuse care. Doing so is no different than refusing to take care of a patient who was drinking and driving.

Why use a midwife instead of a doctor? ›

Many women choose a midwife over a doctor because they want additional emotional support before, during and after delivery. A midwife will get to know you, your family and your preferences over the course of your pregnancy.

Midwives as reproductive health practitioners are in a strategic position to mitigate intergenerational violence by identifying and making the appropriate referrals for pregnant women who are victims of gender-based violence (GBV) (Taket et al., 2003).

A CNM is a registered nurse who graduates from a nurse-midwifery program, while a certified midwife is not a registered nurse. Instead, CMs have a healthcare-related degree or educational background and they graduate from a midwifery program.

Certified nurse-midwives supervise births, which women's health NPs do not have the licensure to do. Women's health nurse practitioners can act as primary care providers, unlike certified nurse-midwives, and provide care for women throughout their lifespan, not just during pregnancy.

A safe option for low-risk pregnancies

According to studies, CNMs provide more access to prenatal care, lower cesarean birth rates, and babies with higher birth weights.

Certified professional midwives (CPMs) are non-nurse midwives who have training and clinical experience in childbirth, including childbirth outside of the hospital, and have passed a national exam.

In addition to training as a nurse, the nurse-midwife has completed a higher education program (either a master's or doctoral degree with a focus in midwifery) and performed hundreds to thousands of additional clinical hours both managing primary care patients and attending births during their training.

The qualifications you'll need

To become a midwife you'll need a degree in midwifery, which takes three years to complete. If you're already a registered adult nurse, you can undertake a shorter course instead, which takes 18 months.

While physician assistants can do many things, they cannot perform all the duties of a medical doctor. For example, physician assistants can assist in surgery, but we cannot perform surgery.

Some of the differences between PA and MD depend on where you're practicing (state/province/country), but, on the whole, PAs do not perform surgery (they can assist), they do not take on the most complex or acute medical cases, and they may or may not be able to prescribe medications (again, depending on location).

Can a PA work in fertility? ›

PAs work closely with patients and doctors in the reproductive endocrinology setting, performing routine procedures, establishing relationships with patients and providing a lot of their ongoing care.

There are some PAs who do well women care but not pregnancy and there are some who do office care of pregnant women. Other PAs work on Labor and Delivery where they participate in deliveries and may assist on cesarean sections or other surgeries.

Scope of medical treatment

A physician assistant can diagnose and treat a wide array of medical concerns, prescribe medicine, and may even perform surgery. A nurse practitioner can help diagnose and treat patients with routine and complex medical conditions, sometimes working alongside physicians to do so.

A primary difference between physicians and NPs is the fact that all doctors can prescribe medication to patients as a part of their duties. Nurse practitioners also prescribe medicine, but in some states they must be directly overseen by a doctor or physician in order to do so.

While doctors and physician assistants perform many of the same duties, PAs have a greater focus on patient care. They don't need to worry about budgets and bureaucracy, so a greater percentage of their time is taken up by the work that drew them to medicine in the first place.

PA job duties

While registered nurses assist patients from a nursing approach, PAs assume a role more or less similar to that of physicians. This gives physician assistants a more direct role in administering tests, performing examinations, and prescribing medication.

A physician's assistant is not a doctor. If you want to address a physician's assistant in a formal manner, you use the honorific of "PA" before the physician's assistant's name. A physician's assistant is not a doctor, but a healthcare professional who performs a number of different tasks in the medical field.

A physician's assistant is not a doctor. If you want to address a physician's assistant in a formal manner, you use the honorific of "PA" before the physician assistant's name. A physician assistant is not a doctor but is a healthcare professional who performs a number of different tasks in the medical field.

How much does a Fertility Nurse make in Pennsylvania? As of Feb 19, 2023, the average annual pay for a Fertility Nurse in Pennsylvania is $64,932 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $31.22 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,248/week or $5,411/month.

Yes, PA's can deliver.

Is IVF legal in Pennsylvania? ›

Assisted Reproductive Technologies in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania recognizes ART, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), sperm and egg donation and surrogacy, as legal means for individuals to create and grow their families.

Request to Modify Parentage on a Birth Record

Please note that a maximum of two parents may be listed on a child's birth record in Pennsylvania. This form may not be used to modify a birth record due to adoption.

They also assist during surgeries, such as cesarean sections, hysterectomies, and post-partum tubal ligations. Physician assistants working with gynecology-oncology surgeons assist in procedures and surgeries such as: Radical hysterectomies.