However, further research had shown that MPAPNs have the capacity to pinpoint knowledge required in greater advanced practice levels. It is the opinion of stakeholders that in instances whereby nurses have to be prepared for advanced roles, the outcomes of this training concerning skills and understanding has to be adequate. However, Hamric, Hanson, Tracy, and O’Grady (2014) opine that there are exist variations among MPAPNs. These differences are present due to various reasons; for example, the capacity to assess clinical scenarios, the extent of a nurse’s know-how of particular clinical techniques, the ability of a nurse to determine why an occurrence has taken place and select a specific medication, and their proficiency in addressing and evaluating non-clinical factors which influence the care given to patients (Hamric et al., 2014). Therefore, it is because of these reasons that clinical and non-clinical MPAPNs
According to the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (N.D.), the progression of the advanced practice nurse (APN) began nearly 50 years ago. From the advent of the first APN program to the over 350 accredited programs and over 222,000 certified nurse practitioners in the United States, the role of the APN has significantly increased and expanded a profession to better improve healthcare for Americans (American Association of Nurse Practitioners, N.D., American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 2016). Of these, more than half are in the field of family practitioners (American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 2016).
Although all advanced practice nurses (APN) require leadership skills, master level preparation and clinical competence, they also incorporate various levels of research into core competencies. The Nurse Practitioner (family, acute and gerontology), the Nurse Educator, Nurse Informaticist, and Nurse Executive are advanced practice nurses that interact in the inpatient and outpatient settings and collaborate to contribute and enhance quality in healthcare. The APN roles continue to evolve as autonomy, healthcare transformation and affordable care impact our healthcare today (Turner & Burman, n.d.).
As popular as the ADN is today, there is a huge momentum to encourage nurses to receive their BSN instead of an ADN. Nurses that are already entering the workforce at the BSN level are not only more skilled at following and understanding evidenced based practice, but they are also more prepared to go on to school to complete their masters or doctorate degrees. In the changing face of healthcare, more nurses with advanced degrees will be needed to provide primary care as in the role of nurse practitioners. APRNs are going to be in higher demand in community care, public health nursing, evidence based practice, research, and leadership. Shortages of nurses in these positions create a “barrier to advancing the profession and improving the delivery of care to patients” (IOM, 2010, p. 170). Shortages of APRNs and the increasing need for nurse practitioners to provide primary care is why the IOM is recommending to increase the amount of BSN educated nurses entering the workforce to 80% and to double the number of doctorate nurses by 2020 (IOM, 2010, p. 173) The goal to increase the nursing workforce to 80% BSN educated nurses and double the amount of nurses with doctorate degrees is a formidable goal, but increasingly necessary. Patients are becoming more complex inside and outside of the hospital setting with chronic multiple comorbidities. BSN educated nurses are not only better prepared to care for these
Over the last several years, the majority of graduating medical students (90%) has been focused on careers in specialized care. (Pickert, 2009) This is because they will make more money in comparison with doctors that are working in a primary care environment. As a result, a shortage has developed with many health care providers turning to Nurse Practitioners. These are nurses with some kind of advanced degree in Nursing. Their job is to diagnose / treat patients and prescribe medication. To fully understand what is happening requires looking at how this trend is having an impact on accountability, quality, costs / health promotion and risk reduction. These different
In 2008, the coalition of members from the Alliance for Advanced Practice Credentialing and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) created the Consensus Model for Advanced Practicing Registered Nurses (APRN’s). This model creates a framework for APRN’s in licensing, accreditation, certification, and education in the United States (Alleman & Houle, 2013). The establishment of this Consensus Model has developed a bases for the ARNP’s comprehensive knowledge base, ability for clinical reasoning, cultural, and ethical competencies, establishing a model of practice for ARNPs in which to follow. These concepts will be further discussed in this paper.
The success of NPs depends on practicing evidence-based care with competency in assessment, diagnosing, managing patients, and maintaining a caring practice. The nursing component of the NP role continues to be challenged from within nursing, as well as by large national physician organizations. NPs are extensions of nursing practice who are guided by nursing theory. The transformation from nurse to the advanced practice role of NP involves development of advanced knowledge and skills for listening, knowing, being with patients, connecting patients to their communities, promoting health,
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2015) the traditional roles of the advanced practice nurses include nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse midwives and nurse anesthetists. Therefore, the impact of the research on the practice of the preparation of DNP nurse educator requires education in evidence-based practice, quality improvement, leadership, policy advocacy, informatics, and systems theory. Furthermore, transitioning to the DNP as a nurse educator does not change the current scope of practice of the Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) for their current roles. The transition of the DNP better prepares APRNs by utilizing new models of the care delivery system and growing complexity of health
Three issues or trends I see that are important with regard to credentialing are reimbursement, malpractice and education. Within each issue are opportunities for the advance practice nurse (APN) to grow in knowledge and participate in change. It is important to understand why each one effects credentialing for the APN.
As the young and rapidly-aging population continues to increase, the demands of primary, acute and chronic disease management will also increase. As a result, more health care professionals who provide primary care will be needed to meet these demands. Thus, the emergence of Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) evolve. APRN is a nurse who has completed a graduate degree and has acquired advanced knowledge and skills. APRNs are grounded with theory, concepts and principles that enable them to assess, diagnose, treat and manage their patients. APRNs can work in conjunction with other health care professionals or independently. APRNs improve access to health care by providing care in the rural and underserved areas. APRNs also reduce the cost to health care (Joel, 2013).
The educational requirement for advanced nursing practice is a master’s level education in a program or track leading to APN licensure, including graduate degree-granting and post-graduate certificate programs with established educational standards and attainment of the APN core, role core and population core competencies (National Council of State Boards, 2012). APN’s acquire increased knowledge in the sciences of anatomy, physiology, microbiology, chemistry, pathophysiology, and pharmacology. The core curriculum for the advanced practice role includes priorities in
Going back to when I was a novice nurse, I was nervous, scared, afraid of making medication error, charting errors or fail to recognized patients worsening symptoms. These fears, made me vigilant, focused and kept me on my toes at all times. No matter which part of nursing I ended up as I grew up the from medical surgical nursing to stepdown unit nursing to intensive care nursing, I felt those fears in every step of my growth and they helped me be a better nurse for my pateints. Today, I am in the advanced practitioner program to become a nurse practitioner who is responsible for: interviewing, assessing, diagnosing, counseling and treating patients. To provide safe and quality healthcare, I am expected to have good critical thinking and decision making abilities (Maten-Speksnijder, Grypdonck, Pool, & Streumer, 2012). while I can recognize clinically deteriorating patients and recommend treatments, I am now responsible for providing treatments. I am now recognizing that facts about being not only responsible for the patient, but also to provide safe care that keeps the patient out of the hospital and out of the ICU. Knowing these facts, I am yet again, faced with the fears of my limited clinical practice knowledge as a practitioner. The amount of information that I have received and learned during this clinical rotation was both exciting and overwhelming at the same time, because I realized as a novice student nurse practitioner (NP), the limited depth of
The role of the Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) is expanding internationally throughout the healthcare system. Since the initiation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, there has been an increased need for APNs due to the growing demand for primary care services and increased population that have gained healthcare coverage (Lanthrop & Hodnicki, 2014). The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of APN and develop a professional development plan for my future career.
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 this author continues his journey toward becoming an APN the patterns of knowing are very important to understand. By implementing these patterns to practice, and using evidence based findings to guide decision making, the author will be better able to care for his patients.