Nurse Practitioners : A Nurse Practitioner Essay

Both Nurse Practitioners (NP) and Physician Assistants (PA) are two very important professionals in the field of medicine. They both work under the supervision of a licensed physician, and their functions are also quite similar with very minor differences between the two. Due to such similarities it has become very difficult for the general population to differentiate between these two professionals (Nurse Practitioner School, 2015). The nurse practitioners are registered nurses who have gone on to earn a master's or doctorate degree in a specialty area of nursing, such as family practice, adult practice, pediatrics or women's health. Their duties include diagnosing and treating acute and chronic conditions, prescribing medication,

Nurse practitioners are advanced practice registered nurses who have received special courses and training. They usually work closely with doctors and can perform many high-level primary care tasks. They often specialize in specific types of practice such as pediatrics, psychiatry, or obstetrics. Some establish private practices; however, most work in doctors' offices, hospitals, or neighborhood health centers. Their duties often include taking detailed medical histories and performing complete physical exams, providing diagnoses and recommending treatment plans, treating common medical conditions, illnesses, and injuries, prescribing limited medications, and counseling patients and families. They also care

Registered nurses work alongside physicians providing patient care in a variety of ways. A few examples of what nurses are responsible for include: administering medications, tracking patient’s vital signs, helping to diagnose and properly treat patient aliments and educating the patient and their family on their condition and the course of treatment. Depending on what area of medicine a nurse works in will determine more generalized and specific duties and responsibilities. There are many different areas a nurse may work in. Some areas include: obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, emergency room, and many more. Nurses can work in a variety of settings, these can include: hospitals, urgent cares, doctors office, nursing homes and home health.

My motivation for pursuing a career in Family Care Nurse Practitioner comes from my various work experience, education, and life experiences. When I first started nursing school I followed a Family Care Nurse Practitioner at the clinic inside of U of L Hospital. I followed her only for a few hours but within this time, I knew that someday I wanted to have a career as a Nurse Practitioner in a hospital with patients of all ages, genders and ethnicity, as well as with the full range of medical problems.

In this essay we are going to explore the connection between professional nursing practice and professional caring. I will outline the terms of professional nursing practice and what makes nursing a profession? I will describe the term of professional caring and the connection to the nursing practice and discuss the dilemma of care and cure. And also determine the importance of both in professional nursing practice.

The Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) is an advanced practice nurse with specialized knowledge in family focused health care. The FNP is responsible for patient care delivery throughout the lifespan which includes diagnosing, prescribing and examination responsibilities. As the healthcare field has taken on more collaborative and integrative initiatives, the need for the advanced practicing nurses has grown in demand in efforts to offer more timely, efficient, and optimal patient care.

The role of nurse practitioner is valuable when discussing collaborative care. There are so many levels of care, so many health entities, and so many insurer criteria involved that it is instrumental to have a role that can work towards help bring all aspects together. In addition to diagnosing, treating, and managing care, the role of the nurse practitioner is to manage simple and episodic acute health issues along with chronic disease (Sangster-Gormley, Martin-Misener, & Burge, 2013). It is important to note that although this is a function of this role, nurse practitioners also practice from a holistic point of view which allows them to help manage patient conditions or wellness in a more complete fashion. This includes helping patients have access to care beyond primary and secondary care settings. This encourages nurse practitioners to work alongside other health care and allied health professions, and families to create an individualized plan for every patient (van

Every individual in the world deserves to enjoy health and wellness. Maintaining or achieving proper health needs enables individuals to be productive at work and leisure. Traditionally, many people have had barriers obtaining adequate healthcare due to economic constraints or personal inconveniences. Despite impressive technological advances in medicine, the challenge of delivering quality healthcare to the Americans continues to be debated amongst the nation’s political and healthcare leaders. The aging baby-boomers and the increased number of uninsured people add to the equation of population growth which results in limited access to primary healthcare for the entire public. On the

Nurse practitioners are advanced registered nurses who have been obligated with providing professional care to patients within their jurisdiction. They are expected to perform comprehensive healthcare services from caring for acute illnesses, injuries, and immunization to the treatment of chronic conditions (Cusack, et al., 2015).

For the purpose of this essay, I will discuss the case of a five years old patient presenting to my place of work with the symptom of shortness of breath (SOB). To maintain confidentiality the pseudonym “Ryan” will be used to refer to the child and Ryan’s mother will be frequently referred to as “mum”.

The role that nurse practitioner (NP) plays within the increasing complex health care system is a constant changing role with the Consensus Model and the introduction of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The scope of the nurse practitioner (NP) includes the care of the young, the old, the sick and the well. The educational needs of a nurse practitioner vary greatly from that of a Registered Nurse (RN), in the amount of education as well as the focus of the education. NPs provide coordinated primary care with the use of comprehensive health histories and physical examinations, diagnosing and treating acute and chronic illnesses, the management of medications and therapies, ordering and interpreting tests results, and educating and

As defined by a State Nurse Practitioner Organization, “A nurse practitioner is a registered professional nurse who is prepared through advanced graduate education and clinical training to provide health care services including diagnosis and management of common as well as complex medical condition to individual of all age” (Buppert, 2015, p. 1). But the difference between nurse practitioners (NP) and another discipline is that NP focuses on risk assessment, health promotion, prevention, counseling, and education.

According to Naylor & Kurtzman (2010), the main responsibility of nursing practitioners is to provide primary care to patients and give medical doctors all the necessary support needed in the execution of their (doctors’) professional duties. However, it is important to note that effective medical care

Now, lets talk about where a Nurse Practitioner can work? “Nurse practitioners are educated to deliver primary care to both adult and pediatric populations in a variety of care settings, including private practices, nurse-managed centers, and community health centers among others” (Poghosyan et al., 2015, p. 47).

On a daily basis nurses provide aid and information to patients and their families. They help to treat, teach, and explain all procedures or illnesses. Nurses are the “backbone” of the doctor, for they help determine the doctors’ next diagnosis by carefully preforming medical procedures or recording medical histories and observations, and once the doctor diagnosis a patient the nurses will go into action by carefully planning the patients medicines, nutrition, and treatments. A nurse is the one who makes sure that a patient’s needs and requirements are fully met.