Nurse Practitioners : A Nurse Practitioner

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

Nursing as a profession has faced many barriers over the centuries. One of the most defining barriers discussed in regard to the historical experience of nurses is the effects of its being considered, and for the most part being, work done by women. In evaluating nursing history it is necessary therefore to evaluate the ways in which society has evolved over time in terms of its views on the roles of nurses of women within the society and its institutions. In the U.S., the inception of nursing both as an occupation and later as a profession, has strong ties to the challenge of women's perceived role as a wife and mother whose sphere was solely domestic. In many ways, significant progress has been made from that time in what women and

While reflecting back on the previous weeks, I have to say that this was the foundational class for the FNP students. Before this class, I used to think how I am going to fulfill the role of a Nurse Practitioner (NP). This class helped me to better understand my role and gave me the confidence that I can fulfill the role of an NP. Today, when I look at myself, I know I am in the stage of advanced beginner in Patricia Benner’s Novice to expert theory. The case studies in the discussion threads really put me in the real world of practical nursing as an NP fulfilling the role of a provider. Thorough the case studies, I have learned how to make a best differential diagnosis based on the patients presenting symptoms. The interaction and sharing

Healthcare workers in the United States work together to provide the best possible care for patients that come into their facility. Patients go through different waves of health care professionals before seeing an actual physician. Healthcare systems use a nurse practitioner, which is a registered nurse with more education and specialization, to help treat a patient in a timely manner. According to the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, NPs have been providing care to patients for over 45 years. The year 2011 has seen 140,000 practicing nurse practitioners in the United States alone, with 9,000 more expected to enter the work force (American Academy of Nurse Practitioners a, 2010). With statistics demonstrating great expectations of

In order to practice as a Nurse Practitioner (NP) in Indiana you must hold a state registered nursing license complete a master 's program with certain course requirements. According to NursingLicensure.com (n.d.) there are two educational options leading to Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) recognition in Indiana: obtain a master 's degree or higher in nursing, or obtain a bachelor 's degree in nursing plus national certification. There is not a specific application to become a NP unless you are also pursuing prescriptive authority. Most laws in Indiana focus on regulating practice of nurse practitioners center around prescribing.

Merriam-Webster (2015) defines a nurse practitioner (NP) as ?a nurse who is qualified through advanced training to assume some of the duties and responsibilities formerly assumed only by a physician.? The NP is a direct care provider that provides a plethora of services ranging from primary prevention to disease management. For example, the NP has authority to monitor and alter drug therapies and order diagnostic tests.

A nurse practitioner is a profession that permits nurses to practice medicine with limited supervision, and they can practice without a doctorate degree. This profession generally has more authority than registered nurses because nurse practitioners are allowed to treat patients independently, and they receive a greater salary. However, there are some disadvantages to this career as well, such as getting tired easily and a lot more responsibility. Even though a nurse practitioner gets to do many things such as practicing medicine, being one still has its advantages and disadvantages.

For my Clinical experience, I was referred to one of community clinics run by nurse practitioners - yes, NPs- in Suffolk County in Long Island by my coworker. It is called “Nightingale Preventative Care.” I am working in the ER and at first, I thought this clinic would be a type of urgent care office which is a similar setting to the ER. I was totally wrong. For the past two weeks, this place has surprised me many ways and I learned about what the community clinic is alike to its neighbors. Patients can be seen by NPs by the appointment. However, it is located inside of K-mart and has many walk-in patients as well. Many patients who come to visit for their check-up have no medical insurance. Every Wednesday, a representative from Fidelis Care insurance company comes and provides information about Medicaid and Medicare service the company has. I really like to sit down with patients and assess about their medical histories and family histories which I cannot do often in the ER. I had a patient who was Hepatitis A Ab, Total positive Abnormal first day I work at the clinic. He didn’t understand what the test result meant and neither did I. I printed out an article from National Library of Medicine and went over with him. Patient’s education in the ER rarely happens from nurses. I felt great to listen what patients tried to lose their weight or quit smoking. I like to continue on developing skills on patient’s education and preventative care measure for patients.

Role is a function played by an individual or particular group of individual in a particular situation. It includes connected obligations, behaviors, rights, beliefs, and norms as theorized by people in a social state. The role of a nurse practitioner (NP) started to manifest in the mid-1960s. This came as a response to the nationwide physicians’ shortage. The NPs were then classified under the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) umbrella. The origin of the NP role in the United States came through the effort of Loretta Ford (RN) and Henry Silver a pediatrician who had insight for the nurses to be developed and be more effectively used to improve the health care. The demand for primary healthcare was increasing as physician were moving to areas of specialty because of the associated income, lifestyle incentives and status. The nurses were to fill the gap. To realize this, education was essential. The nurses where then equipped with skills of performing developmental tests, history taking, doing evaluative procedures, some laboratory procedures and physical examination and referral for medical care that traditionally had been a medicine domain (O’Brien, 2003).

A Nurse Practitioner can be defined as the performance of advanced- level nursing actions, with or without compensation and by a licensed registered nurse with advanced education, knowledge and skill.

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.

In the world history of nursing, roots can be traced to religion, mythology, and Eastern and Western societies. The ancient Egyptians utilized perhaps the first formal nurses, hiring them to assist in childbirth. It is from these beginnings that today's midwives evolved.

Nurse; the word itself conjures up many images. Florence Nightingale is often the historical image that pops into minds; this image of the “lady with the lamp”. But before Florence, nurses were something different all together. Hospitals themselves were not the atmosphere of caring and healing that they have become today. Hospitals of historical times were workhouses. These were the only places for sick patients who could not afford costs

The evolution of nursing as a profession had showed through time that it is both an art and science. Before the 19th century, the military and religious orders are the ones who perform the duties of how nurses work today. As time went by, different events throughout history such as wars and epidemics had shaped nursing to its present organization. Nowadays, nursing is pushing further towards the future in improving itself as a profession for better care and service to the community. The objective of this paper is to discuss the historical development of