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Infographic: Nurse Practitioner B Readers?

Analysis  |  By G Hatfield  
   January 22, 2025

Nurse practitioners may soon be able to classify chest radiographs, according to the CDC.

Nurse practitioners' (NPs) scope of practice will potentially be expanded once again as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers allowing NPs to try their hand at reading a specific type of X-ray.

The CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) submitted a request for information regarding the B Reader Program from interested parties to determine whether or not they should allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants (PAs) to become B Readers.

Here's the rundown on what it would mean for nurse practitioners to become B Readers. 

Click here to read the accompanying article. 

G Hatfield is the CNO editor for HealthLeaders.


KEY TAKEAWAYS

The CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) wants to determine whether they should allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to become B Readers.

Currently, only licensed U.S. physicians can become B Readers, and as of October 2024, only 184 U.S.-based physicians in 35 states are licensed B Readers.  

If nurse practitioners become eligible to take the B Reader exam and become licensed B Readers once they pass, that will once again expand the role that nurse practitioners play in care delivery.


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