This practicing nurse anesthetist has tracked a fascinating journey into the realm of health care legislation.

2017 was a year of uncertainty, especially for those who work as health care providers. But with threats to the Affordable Care Act seemingly defused for now, it’s time to look forward to the year ahead. What new developments will affect health care policy in 2018, both federally and within the state of California?

We asked Elizabeth Bamgbose, a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Nursing at the USC Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, to tell us a bit about her dynamic career path and how health policy may change in the year to come.

USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work: You’ve had an incredibly varied career to date, from clinical work to the classroom (and beyond). Could you walk us through the highlights?

Elizabeth Bamgbose: I went to the University of Rochester for my undergraduate degree, pursued a Master’s in Nurse Anesthesia at Columbia University, then completed my PhD at the University of San Diego in 2016 with a focus on women’s obstetrics and health. I’ve been practicing as a nurse since 2001 and a nurse anesthetist since graduating from Columbia in 2006.

As a part-time researcher, I was — and still am — working with a team that’s been awarded an NIH grant to produce a wireless adhesive fetal heart rate monitor. It is intended to serve as a way to monitor fetal well-being while allowing for increased maternal movement during labor. The device may also have the potential to monitor high-risk pregnancies while the mother is at home or in rural settings, where she may not have regular access to medical care. Eventually, we’d like to introduce the monitor to other parts of the world with limited access to prenatal care. 

Over the past 4 years I’ve become increasingly interested in health politics and policy, and I currently serve as the President of the California Association of Nurse Anesthetists (CANA). CANA is one of the most successful nursing and medical lobbyist groups in Washington D.C.; we focus on all health policy and patient safety. The California chapter alone has nearly 2,000 members, and our national chapter has over 40,000 members.

USC: Given your background in research, practice, and policy, why did you decide to move into teaching? What attracted you to the educational side of the nursing world?

EB: I first began developing a class for the USC Department of Nursing about a year and a half ago, and became a full-time faculty member in August 2017, while continuing to work as a nurse anesthetist at Keck Medicine of USC.

I’ve always been interested in education. It all goes back to a public health class I took at the University of Rochester (I was actually attending the university on a basketball scholarship!). I decided to try a class at the U of R School of Nursing. Without knowing very much about the field, I was immediately inspired by my professors, who were all extremely passionate and had a remarkable ability to balance their work as clinicians with teaching and performing clinical research.

I’ve wanted to teach ever since being a witness to and a product of this excellence in the nursing profession. Since becoming a registered nurse, I have had the privilege to teach in the clinical setting, but am now enjoying teaching in the virtual classroom setting as well.

USC: I’d imagine that a major component of effective teaching (and nursing in general!) is staying up-to-date on major health policy changes that could affect nursing practices. What’s on the horizon for 2018?

EB: Health policy is always changing, and 2018 will certainly be a momentous year in that regard. Perhaps the biggest question on everyone’s mind is the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). There have been rising costs associated with the overall budget of the ACA, due to the very large number of patients that it insures. This isn’t necessarily negative, since it also indicates an increase in the amount of care being provided — especially preventative care. Of course, increasing access to preventative care is one of the major ways we keep overall health care costs down and reduce unnecessary ER visits. This has been a great result since inception of the ACA.

Our current focus is on expanding the best aspects of our existing health care regime. One of the most profound recent changes is in the VA health system: there has been a policy approval stating that Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) should be utilized to fulfill patient care needs within their FULL scope of practice. Empowering APRNs to enact their full scope of practice would help bring quality care to more patients; we hope to bring this advantage to the civilian sector soon.

Recent legislation which Californians have voted in has also helped to fund health care within the state. The tobacco tax bill in April 2017, for example, will fund things like preventative health care and increased access to pediatric dentistry in underserved populations. Many hope to one day have a single-payer system, but that’s not financially feasible right now. It would cost approximately 200 times the income we receive from the Tobacco Tax to accommodate this new system.

In addition, legislators have been looking into how to make pediatric dental anesthesia safer for patients in 2018. Right now, dentists are required to take a weekend course in anesthesia techniques before administering general anesthesia, which simply isn’t enough training for this delicate practice. By seeking funding in creative ways and improving regulatory practices, we can make health care less costly, more effective and safer for everyone.