Nurse Practitioner in Psychology and Pediatrics
Pursuing a Masters or higher in nursing enables nurses to work with a great level of autonomy and understanding of the profession. One aspect of higher education for nursed included becoming a Nurse Practitioner, who gains the ability to prescribe and diagnose aliments under the guidance of a physician (this is true in most states, but in some a Nurse Practitioner can have his/her own practice). To attain this level of nursing one must get a masters but there is currently a push toward Doctors of Nursing Practice programs for this field. Two subspecialties include psychology which is focused on the entire life span and pediatric which can either focus on acute or primary care.
A psychiatric nurse practitioner focuses on treating people with psychological illnesses often with a high level of severity. Serving as an addition to the treatment team he/she can work in a variety of settings. They are commonly employed in group practices or community settings and can provide medication management, counseling, and treatment planning and management. They will work with individuals, groups and families, to provide the best treatment for those with mental health issues. Nurses also contribute to the environment of mental health care by helping implement policy, reform, improvement and evaluation of the treatment available to patients. (www.apna.org)
While, treating children with serious and acute illnesses is the focus of a PNP
A pediatric nurse would be the career for me because I work well with children and I find that helping children makes me happy. Being a pediatric nurse has many duties and personal characteristics needed; such as working with children and getting along with them easily. Being a pediatric nurse also requires many years of studying and also many costs, but in the end the wages and benefits make up for it. The work setting and employment outlook are looking good for the upcoming years. Having a career as a pediatric nurse requires a lot of responsibilities and duties but I feel that because I am hard working and easily get along with children this would be the right career for me.
I want to be a pediatric nurse. I absolutely adore children. I have been a preschool teacher for 4 years while I am continuing my education at Lonestar college to finish my prerequisite and get into nursing school. I desire to not only learn but achieve excellence. I go above and beyond what is required of me. I graduated from Lonestar College Cyfair with honors. I graduated cum laude and proud member of the prestigious Phi Theta Kappa honor society. I also graduated from Lonestar honors college. This is college allowed me to go beyond what I am capable of and set the standard for my academic excellence. The honors college help to broaden my horizon and can perform research that has never been done before. This research was unique to me I did
In addition, a DNP degree will help me better serve my community by advocating for quality and safety healthcare system. Once attained, I would seek employment at either a school or university with the mission of educating nursing students to practice the highest quality of patient care. One of the major issues facing the nursing profession today is the lack of advance nursing practices. The medical field is in crisis. Doctors are stretched to the limits, and patients are demanding more advanced care. To alleviate some of the concerns facing medicine in the 21st century, advance nursing practices is a vital area in the contribution of understanding and working within the bounds of a team structure, and the promotion of communication between the interdisciplinary health team. The mission of the advance nursing practice is to help individual patients, and their families, determine and achieve optimum physical, mental and social potential, and to do so within the challenging context of the environment in which they live and work Nurses are among the largest professional care group within the healthcare service industry. We are responsible for providing quality care and assisting patients towards independent and healthy living. Considering the changing working environment, health care practitioners like nurses are
Pediatric nursing is an important profession to us today. They devote their knowledge and skills to caring for children from infancy through the late teen years. Pediatric nursing does not just give you the opportunity to work with children, but with their families as well. I was inspired to become a pediatric nurse when I was younger. I remember when my little sister had to go to Kids First Pediatric to get a flu shot, my sister was so terrified of the needle she began to cry and try to move away from the nurse. In order for the nurse to calm my sister down she started making my sister laugh by playing peek-a-boo with her so that my sister could get her mind off of the needle. Once my sister was no longer thinking about the needle the nurse told my sister to count with her and on the count of three the nurse gave my sister the flu shot without my sister even noticing it. I found it so unique how a nurse could be playful with kids when they’re scared. I like working with kids so I know that this particular field is perfect for me.
A Paramedic is a professional who works within the healthcare industry; they work alongside Ambulance Technicians, other Paramedics, Doctors’ and Nurses. They work on the frontline and are called out to any emergencies, where they can work with the Fire Brigade and Police depending on the emergency. Paramedics are usually first on the scene and give emergency treatment until handed over to the relevant department. (Health Careers, 2017) A Mental Health Nurse also works within the healthcare industry, however they are mostly based in a hospital setting or out within the community. They can work in a psychiatric ward or visit patients at home. A Mental Health Nurse can work alongside, Psychologists, Social workers and other therapists. Unlike a Paramedic, a Mental Health Nurse has more one to one time with patients. This can help build relationships with their patients and family,
As nurses, it extremely important for us to have an understanding of mental health so we can decrease the stigma in the healthcare profession. There shouldn’t be a difference between a “psychiatric nurse” and a “general nurse”. Since over 50% of the population suffers from a mental illness, both professions should be equally educated and sensitive towards health care issues.
“Mental health nurse also work with families of patients to make sure that patients are getting all the help that they can. In addition, they may play a roll in educating the community about mental health issues.” (Career Cruising) Depending on what they choose, mental health nurses can help either children or the elder. Many work with those who are a danger to themselves and others. “Some mental health nurses are trained and assigned to work within the prison populations. Some may work with those who have substances abuse problems.”
As I begin my fifth year of working as a nurse practitioner in a leading children’s hospital, I am certain the pediatric acute care setting is where I will continue my career of service to children and their families. Although I hold a masters degree in nursing and have been a primary care certified pediatric nurse practitioner for many years, I wish to expand my knowledge of pediatric nursing to encompass the unique and challenging aspects of pediatric acute care.
As seniors in high-school we are always asked about what career we want to pursuit,and where we want to take our lives. I began thinking about what I like and what subjects I was good at. I found out I loved math and science and was good at them too. Then I knew that the health field was really for me. I began searching for ways for me to see if I really liked it, so I applied to go to scrubs health camp at Augsburg college near my house. I really liked it and saw that my love for kids had me leaning to becoming a pediatrician. I had my doubts on that also because of the number of years of schooling, and one day I stumbled upon a pediatric nurse practitioner occupation and began reading about it. I loved it so much that
The present healthcare system in the United States (U.S) faces various challenges due to changing demographic, economic and political pressures. The need of primary care provides are increasing as a result of increasing access to healthcare, increasing expenditures, and growing populations of the elderly and chronically ill patients. Even with the plenty of evidences that Nurse Practitioners (NP)are well educated, competent, health care professionals who are able to improve access to high-quality health care and lower health care costs, restrictive practice regulations still exist. The quest for NPs independence practice has surpassed and it became a necessary practice transformation to improve the health of the nation (The National Organization
My name is Kristen Simoneaux, and I am a Sophomore here at Lamar University. I am from Nederland Texas, and I graduated from Nederland High School in 2013. I have lived in Nederland all of my life, and I continue to live here. I am going to Lamar University because it is close to home, and it has an excellent nursing program. My major is nursing, and I plan to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in May 2017. I am applying to the nursing program for the Fall of 2015, and I will spend two years in the nursing program. After I graduate, I plan to get my Masters degree and then hopefully my PhD to become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. I have been dancing for sixteen years at Keely Jardell’s School of Dance in Nederland Texas, and I am currently an assistant teacher there. I have been assisting for two years. I am also on the Lamar University Dance Team and have been on it for two years. This year, I am one of five officers. The Dance Team performs at all of the Lamar home football and basketball games and puts on an annual Spring show. We also do numerous community service hours.
Sara Moss-Wolfe once said "Nurses — one of the few blessings of being ill." After much research and thought, I decided that I wanted to be a pediatric nurse practitioner. For the most part "Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners, also referred to as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), coordinate patient care and they may provide primary and specialty health care (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,2014). Pediatric Practitioners are responsible for recording or patient medical history, performing exams, conduct research, and giving patients medical treatments because it gives me an opportunity to research specific illnesses
There are hundreds of different careers in the medical field ranging from neurosurgeons to nurse practitioners. Psychiatry deals specifically with the diagnosis and treatment of mental, behavioral, and emotional ailments. The main purpose of a psychiatrist is to help people coop with issues and stress in their environment that make it difficult to lead a normal and healthy lifestyle. These issues may arise from abuse, addiction, mental disability, disease, or physical injury. It is the psychiatrist’s job to ensure the patient can maintain a healthy attitude and continue to provide for themselves. A Psychiatrist may choose to specialize in many sub classes of mental health including children and adolescents, geriatric psychiatry, addiction,
About one-quarter of all American adults suffer from a mental health disorder in any given year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Mental health is an important component of overall health and wellness. Treatment options often include medication and psychotherapy. Mental health nurses help patients who suffer from mental illness to recover their mental health so that they can live to their fullest potential. For example, mental health nurses work in a variety of settings, such as, psychiatric hospitals, substance abuse treatment programs, home healthcare services, community mental health agencies, and private practice. This paper will give a description of my clinical experience at a psychiatric hospital.
Rungapadiachy and Gough (2004) in a study that explores mental health nursing students’ perception of the nursing role in psychiatry, identifies several themes in which student nurses identify five psychiatric nursing roles. The roles include nurse administrator, agent of physical interventions, medication administrator, and educator. These authors conclude that role identification is highly complex and not always easy to define. However, they contend that the role of the psychiatric nurse should be expanded in order to develop the therapeutic interactions between the nurse and the patient.