Nurse Practitioners Needed.....NOW!

  (This Page just got a tremendous boost from one of our visitors, an extremely busy nurse in Florida who is sharing her experiences at two of the most interesting blogs that you are likely to find anywhere. 

She previously obtained her BSN online and is now working toward the NP.)

Quick update: We've just been informed that she has finished her Nurse Practitioner schooling.  CONGRATS, lady. We're truly looking forward to your new adventures.  Keep us posted.

Her two blogs are packed with just the kind of information you may be seeking. You'll find the URLS for both at the bottom of this page.

The Nurse Practitioner is at the forefront of the movement to modernize patient services. The NP provides an integrated range of care options for patients.

Nurse practitioners are registered nurses with advanced knowledge and decision-making skills in assessment, diagnosis and health-care management of patients and clients.

A nurse practitioner (NP) is a nurse with a graduate degree in advanced practice nursing. This allows him or her to provide a broad range of health care services, including:

  Taking the patient's history, performing a physical exam.

  Diagnosing, treating, and managing acute and chronic diseases, and ordering appropriate laboratory tests and procedures

  Providing prescriptions and coordinating referrals

  Promoting healthy activities in collaboration with the patient

Nurse practitioner specialties include family practice, women's health, pediatrics, geriatric, neonatology, school health, emergency, oncology and primary care.

Some nurse practitioners work in clinics without physician supervision, and others work together with physicians as a joint health care team. Their scope of practice and authority depends on state laws.

Like many other professions, nurse practitioners are regulated at two different levels.

  Licensure is a process that takes place at the state level in accordance with specific state laws.

  In contrast, certification is established through national organizations with requirements for minimal professional practice standards being consistent across all states.

Laws specific to NP licensure vary greatly from state to state. More and more states are requiring master's degree educational preparation and national certification.

 In some states, NP practice is completely independent, while some states require proof of a collaborative MD only for prescriptive practice privileges, and other states require proof of a collaborative MD for licensure at all.

A few states still do not have specific nurse practitioner licensure or recognize practice by NPs.

National certification is offered through various nursing organizations (such as the American Nurses' Association, Pediatric Nursing Certification Board, and others), most of which require completion of an approved master's-level NP program prior to taking the certification exam.

The exams tend to be offered in specialty areas such as family nurse practitioner, pediatric nurse practitioner, school nurse practitioner, adult nurse practitioner, women's health care nurse practitioner, and geriatric nurse practitioner. Re-certification involves proof of continuing education.

Only certified nurse practitioners may use a "C" either in front of or behind their other credentials (e.g., Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, FNP-C, Certified Family Nurse Practitioner). Some nurse practitioners may use the credential APN rather than NP, denoting advanced practice nurse, a broader category that also includes clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse midwives, and nurse anesthetists.

The nurse practitioner role offers specific populations of health consumers easier access to needed health services, through extended nursing practice.

Nurse practitioners have a scope of practice that is wider than that normally available to nurses. The expanded role includes the direct referral of consumers to other health professionals, prescribing of a designated and agreed list of medications and ordering of a designated and agreed list of diagnostic investigations.

The Nurse Practitioner's Place    www.arnp.blogspot.com and

Nurse Practitioner News                    www.blogcharm.com/npnews

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