Gov. Tony Evers on April 15 vetoed a bill that would’ve allowed APRNs with at least 3,840 clinical hours to work independently of physicians through a new license administered by the state nursing board. Mr. Evers said he objected to “altering current licensure standards for APRNs, allowing practices functionally equivalent to those of physicians or potentially omitting physicians from a patient’s care altogether.”
Dr. Kallio, a certified registered nurse anesthetist, cited the veto in his resignation letter to Mr. Evers.
“You and your administration know very little about the day-to-day work of advanced practices nurses in Wisconsin,” Dr. Kallio wrote, adding that APRNs in Wisconsin have been working independently during the pandemic through an emergency rule with no negative effects to patient outcomes.
“I can no longer continue, when I know that the support of the state government leadership is not supportive of its 90,000 nurses,” Dr. Kallio concluded.
His term was set to expire July 1.
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