Loading...Nurse Practitioners are these advanced practicing nurses, who have obtained a Master’s or a Doctoral degree after completing graduate-level education. They offer cares to patients and assist the doctors for quality nursing cares. Their job responsibilities are almost same as actual doctors. Their job duties are concentrated to various types of settings including, home health cares, various types of health cares, hospitals, a doctor’s office or work in outpatient services.
Their basic duties includes, offering clinical care, obtaining patients medical histories and conducting physical examinations, prescribe physical therapy, provide rehabilitation treatments treatment of illness, child care screening and immunizations, cares for injury, diagnosis, treatments and recovery, infection control, counseling and health education and more. They work independently or in autonomous collaboration with the doctors or other health care professionals.
Higher education and advanced special training through continuing education prepares them for Advanced Practice Nurses, which also make them primary health care practitioners.
Nurse Practitioner or Advanced-Practice Nurses can be classified in 4 categories with separate job responsibilities and they include
- Nurse-practitioners
- Clinical nurse specialists
- Certified Nurse-Midwives
- Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists.
The Nurse Practitioner educational program includes completion of the education and training essential to become a RN and then, opt for a Master’s or Doctorate degree. The next step is to successfully clear national certification board exam in selected area of specialty, which also offers them a License as the Nurse Practitioner.
The associate degree or diploma level trained RNs must first complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or enroll for programs offering an ADN-to-MN/MSN bridge program.
The broad specialty areas for national board certification training for NPs includes, FNB, Pediatric Acute/Chronic Care, PNP, Gerontology (GNP), Women’s Health, Neonatology (NNP), Acute Care (ACNP), Adult Health (ANP), Psychiatry & Mental Health (PMHNP), Oncology (ONP) and others.