The nurse practitioner role was established not only to elevate the nursing profession but to fill a void in underserved areas in need of medical care. For over fifty years, nurse practitioners have provided both care to those in need and seen their profession practice flourish. Today’s nurse practitioners are facing a growing emphasis to be utilized more effectively and to the full extent of their knowledge and skill. Nurse practitioners play a pivotal role in achieving many of the goals established in the Accountable Care Act. This paper contains a comparison and contrast between the ideal role and that of an actual nurse practitioner. To understand the role of the nurse practitioner relevant issues such as professional guidelines, use of evidence based practice and research in practice, and leadership will be addressed. Professional Role of Nurse Practitioner Nurse practitioners provide an answer to many of the problems affecting healthcare today (DeNisco & Barker, 2016). For years nurse practitioners have provided cost effective quality care to the public, now with the recent changes in healthcare reform nurse practitioners are in even greater demand. Despite research citing their value, the role of the nurse practitioner must be clarified. To meet and support the growing demands of the health care system, an understanding of the nurse practitioner role is important. DeNisco & Barker state, “Advance Nurse Practitioners are licensed
There are four types of Advanced Practice Nurse roles, the nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, and certified nurse-midwife. The Family Nurse Practitioner is the advanced practice role that will be discussed. According to Hamric, Hanson, Tracy, and O 'Grady (2014) the primary care NP provides care for patients in diverse settings, including community-based settings such as private and public practices, acute, and long-term care settings across the life span (pg. 396). Family Nurse Practitioners have faced many challenges in the medical profession to be recognized as health care providers. Most of these challenges where from fellow nurses. According to Hamric, Hanson, Tracy, and O’Grady (2014) conflict and discord about the Nurse Practitioner role continued to characterize relationships between NPs and other nurses (pg. 18). Despite the resistance to NPs in nursing, physicians increasingly accepted NPs in individual health care practices (Hamric, Hanson, Tracy, and O’Grady, 2014, pg. 18). Physicians readily accepted the role of the Nurse Practitioner, working together to improve patient outcomes and safety.
Samantha stated that initially many people asked her if she chose to be a family nurse practitioner to be a “mini physician” (S. Hage De Reyes, personal communication, June 22, 2016). In her perspective, it has been an issue to show others in health care professions that nurses just want to expand their knowledge. She “fights battles every day” for her patients because of the holes in our health care system (S. Hage De Reyes, personal communication, June 22, 2016). In her experience, she has seen many individuals without insurance. She has learned that being a family nurse practitioner is being an advocate for the patient and helping them get the resources that they need. Family nurse practitioners help provide care in a more affordable way. In Samantha’s opinion, family nurse practitioners are the answer to creating access to care for the large uninsured population and those that are newly insured under the Affordable Care Act, and I could not agree
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.
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
The health care industry is experiencing a surge in the number of baby-boomers needing health care and increased demands on the physicians providing the care. This trend has made the role of Advanced practice providers more important (cite). It is imperative to understand the differences and similarities in the advanced practice provider roles as it pertains to healthcare. This paper will identify specialty nursing roles including advanced practice registered nurses (APRN). It will further compare and contrast the advanced practice nurse (APN) and physician assistant (PA) roles in practice.
Budzi, Lurie, Singh, and Hooker (2010) state, “Nurse Practitioners’ (NP) interpersonal skills in patient teaching, counseling, and patient centered care contribute to positive health outcomes and patient satisfaction.” According to their research they encourage healthcare systems in the U.S. to hire more NPs to allow for better access affordable, and quality care (Denisco & Barker, 2016). With the demand for primary care providers, The NP role aids in delivering a solution to some of the healthcare issues that exist today. Organizations like the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) all agree to allow nurses to practice to their full abilities to make healthcare more accessible and affordable, especially for the aging baby boomers and less accessible rural neighborhoods, and densely populated urban areas. Research has proven that NPs that provide primary care have similar health outcomes to primary care physicians (DeNisco et. al., 2016). NPs particularly take pride in their holistic approach, forming therapeutic relationships between other providers of the healthcare team, patients, and their families, aiding the informed decision making process, use of the evidence based practice approach in health management (Brown, 2005). Some of the other actions or qualities that
Fry, M. (2011). Literature review of the impact of nurse practitioners in critical care services. Nursing In Critical Care, 16(2), 58-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-5153.2010.00437.x
Since the inception of the Nurse Practitioner (NP) role in the 1960s, NPs have thrived in the delivery of primary healthcare and nurse case management. Despite patient satisfaction with NPs ' style of care, nurses have been critical of NPs, while physicians have been threatened by NP encroachment on MD practice. Balancing assessment, diagnosis, and treatment with caring defines NPs ' success as primary care providers. Understand the role and Scope of Practice of NPs is sometimes difficult for some to understand. The purpose of this paper is to define the role and history of NP, compare and contrast licensure versus certifications, understand NP Scope Of Practice and Standards of Care, discuss how the State Practice Acts regulate FNP practice, discuss credentialing and privileging, and differentiate between legislative and regulatory processes.
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
As resistant as some states’ legislative and regulatory bodies are to grant APNs autonomy of practice, the damage being done by over-regulation is clear (Safriet, 1992). Physicians are forced into a position to either supervise the APN’s practice or be constantly consulted for approval of their practice decisions. Safriet (1992) described that in and of itself, this constant supervision may appear to patients that the APN is not competent to provide adequate or care equivalent to that of a physician. If the role of the APN is to bridge gaps in health care by relieving the medical establishment of some of the patient load by performing the same function as a physician in a primary care setting, it seems wholly unnecessary to restrain their scope of practice in those areas. This type of restrictions affect cost and patient care accessibility (Safriet, 1992). This was a problem stated in the article, however 25 years later, populations of patients remain unseen or cared for and APNs continue to be underutilized (Safriet, 1992). Rigolosi and Salmond (2014) cite the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) when they state that not utilizing nurse practitioners due to practice restrictions costs $9 billion annually in the US (p. 649).
There is an increasing demand for nurse practitioners, which makes this a crucial period in the development of their practice and profession. Nurse practitioners must face increased opportunity and continuing opposition towards independent practice all while defining their role in health care delivery and establishing their connections. The practice of nurse practitioners still varies widely across the states. These inconsistencies make it difficult for nurse practitioners as well as patients when practice
Nurse practitioners are known to provide excellent quality and clinical to our patients. we listen, take time and advocate for our patients. These patients choose Advance Nurse Practitioners because of these strengths. However, health care now is more than taking care of patient with this political realm that controls what Advance Nurse Practitioners can do and how we have to do it. In this Advance Nurse Practitioners practice, the promotion to the public will be by participating and get involved in our communities. According to The American Nurses Association (ANA), Advance Nurse Practitioners play an important and crucial role in the evolution of the healthcare system in the U.S. (American Nurses Association,
“The APN, nurse practitioner, is prepared educationally to assume responsibility and accountability for health promotion and/or maintenance, as well as the assessment, diagnosis, and management of patient problems, including the use and prescription of pharmacologic and nonpharmacological interventions” (Harmic 2014). The Advanced Practice Nurse, nurse practitioner, posse expert roles that aide in patient safety and cause for increased demand for nurse practitioners. The advanced
The healthcare delivery system and the care for patients has brought new dimension which necessitated the need for competencies, perfection and accountability into the healthcare system. This has brought about a change in nursing education to now pay more attention to practical nursing. To affect better client’s outcome, knowledge must be applied clinically in a holistic way to the benefit of the patient we serve. Steven, K., (2013) in his article “The Impact of Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing and the Next Big Ideas”, suggests that, the recommendation that nurses lead delivery system and care bring to the fore that necessitate for new competencies, beyond evidence-based practice, that are requisite as nurses transform healthcare. Directions
In today’s healthcare, challenging conditions are in a constant flux that calls for alternative solutions to provide the much necessary medical care to the aging population. Such is the case seen with the predicted lower numbers of newly graduated doctors going into primary care (Cassidy, 2012). The incorporation of Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANP) into the primary care sector is an alternative that can assist fill this growing gap in primary care settings. Policies regulating the role of the ANPs occupation are in place to assure that the standards of care are maintained, and that safety practice are being executed in order to protect the public’s well being. Regulating agencies that control the role