for Perioperative Nurses, NPs and RNFAs
July 6, 2009 Vol. 2, No. 7
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Need Answers Now?
Call Emily! |
Questions about RNFA
training, credentialing, reimbursements,
state issues, or just want to "talk shop" between cases? Call
Emily on the NIFA HOT LINE! She'll
answer your question or immediately
direct you to the right person for an answer. Call 1-800-92ASSIST, press 1. |
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From the Editor
Have you noticed that many Nurse Practitioners are entering the perioperative arena as formal RNFAs lately? Many, such as Jim below, are current perioperative nurses who are getting their advanced practice titles to make themselves more flexible and marketable, while others, such as Mary Katherine, are new to the OR. In either case, with 76 million baby boomers entering the Medicare ranks by 2011, being an NP RNFA who can bill for Medicare services is a smart career move to consider. Do YOU have a surgical article or personal experience to share? We welcome your submissions for consideration. Please send your ideas to news@nifa.com. Julie Lancaster, Editor |
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Student in the Spotlight |
Name: Jim Bonnett
Credentials: RN, BSN, PHN,CNOR
City & State: San Francisco, CA
Current Job: OR, scrub and circulate / ISU at UCSF Medical Center
while attending Samuel Merritt University to become an NP
Previous Job: OR orthopedics, Level 1 Trauma - spine and cardiac, at UC Davis.
Quote about NP Future: As an advanced practice nurse, your patients are really your patients; you're not following someone else's possibly skewed view. There is a great deal of interpersonal communication and you learn how a patient's physical condition affects their family, environment, and the rest of their life. In the future I would love to have my own clinic paired up with doctors. . . . I try to never be content. If you stop learning, it becomes work. |
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Student in the Spotlight
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Name: Mary Katherine Nye Credentials: MS, FNP-C City & State: Corinth, TX Current Job: Nurse Practitioner at Texas Back Institute Previous Job: ER Nurse Quote: I've always known since I was a kid that I wanted to work in the medical field - and because I really like to talk with people, I figured I would move into nursing. Then I wanted to do more than nursing. I like hands-on work and find the OR very satisfying. I have my own patients and also collaborate with the other staff at the clinic, seeing some of their patients. I'm taking the RNFA course because I can't bill for my OR services in Texas without an RNFA.
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RNFA TIPS
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Are you an NP, AD or Diploma RNFA graduate who can't sit for the CRNFA national exam?
If so, the day may come when Risk Management requires you to be certified in the assisting role. What can you do? Qualified RNFA AD, diploma and NP graduates who cannot sit for the CRNFA exam because they do not hold a bachelors or do not have the required 2000 hours, can sit for the Registered Nurse Assistant at Surgery - Certified (RNAS-C™) exam.
NIFA note: If you do qualify for CRNFA, by all means sit for it! It is the most respected RNFA exam in the country. RNAS-C is only an alternative. |
NIFA helps fund
OR Management Education monthly as an
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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this newsletter are strictly those of their respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of NIFA. NIFA does not give any express or implied warranty as to the
accuracy of statements made by our contributors and does not accept any liability for error or omission. It is the responsibility of all perioperative personnel to work within and adhere to their facility bylaws and individual state scope of practice.
 The National Institute for First Assisting (NIFA) is the nation's leader of distance learning RNFA programs. NIFA students receive over 34 hours of simulated skills hands-on lab training at our 3-day SutureStarXpress Workshops (or over 54 hours of simulated skills hands-on lab training at our 6-day SutureStar Workshops). NIFA's RNFA programs are CCI-accepted and meet all standards as set forth by the AORN for formal RN First Assistant programs, taking Perioperative Nurses and NPs to expert levels in the expanded role of Registered Nurse First Assistant. |
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