The Role of the Nurse Practitioner - Research Paper Example

?Running Head: Role of Family Nurse Practitioner in the Hospital Environment Lecturer: Introduction A Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) can be defined as a nurse who is registered and posses a master’s degree and an advanced training where he/she can offer medical services to both young children and the aged. Family nurse practitioners are capable of working in various environments including hospitals, clinics, and community settings. There are several complex roles of a nurse practitioner which blend a variety of medical services to their respective patients under the authority of a physician. The FNP works and functions in a similar manner like a physician even though she lacks the same knowledge and qualifications of a doctor. In family settings, the family nurse practitioner makes routine check-ups on the physical condition of the family as well as diagnoses any form of illness and other minor injuries (Aries & Middough, 2010). Roles of a Family Nurse Practitioner in Hospital Environment A major responsibility of a nurse practitioner is preparation and maintenance of medical documentation of a certain family. She is responsible of updating the charts of her findings on the condition of a patient after the completion of diagnostic tests. A family nurse practitioner adds the new information into the patients chart. All these forms of medical communication between the nurse practitioner and the patient and between the patient and the physician in addition to any other healthcare worker involved have to be stored by the nurse practitioner in the personal file of the patient. This medical information is added to the medical history of the patient such that it can be used in future by other physicians who may be attending the patient (Hamric, 2008). Since a nurse practitioner acts under the surveillance of the attending physician, she should possess perfect communication skills and sufficiently work as expected with other attending physicians who are treating a certain specific member of a family. During the process of treating a patient, the family nurse practitioner has to be involved in the process as a she acts as a part of the medical team. It is a requirement that she shares her medical knowledge of the patient with other medical professionals as well discussing the condition of the patient in an effort to gain some knowledge about the patient which may be important at a latter date (Coffman & Edward, 1998). It is the responsibility of the family medical practitioner to discuss the condition of the patient with the doctor or any other visiting physician so as to receive an input approval from the doctor or the physician. In addition with collaborating with the doctor, the family nurse practitioner has to work hand-in-hand with other nurses and therapists for the betterment of their patient as they will provide important advice which will be very useful during the process of caring and treating the patient. Provision of proper medication and elderly care is also a part of their duty. After people get aged, they develop many complications where in some worse cases they get mentally retarded thus it is also a duty of the family nurse practitioner to oversee that they get the right medication as well as care (Aries & Middough, 2010). This nurse further observes the complaints of the patient and conducts a diagnosis on the patient’s health and determines the course of medication to be observed in accordance with the medical history of the patient. The family nurse practitioner has the mandate to demand lab tests or X-rays of a patient by lab physicians with reference to the condition of the patient so as to make recommendations on the type of treatment the patient is supposed to receive. For instance, a middle aged female may approach a female nurse practitioner with complaints of fatigue and based on her examination of the condition of the patient, the nurse practitioner has the liberty to order for lab tests to be conducted on such a patient so as to diagnose the scope of the problem as the sources of fatigue are numeral, this will eventually enable her to prescribe the medication to be offered to the patient (Hamric, 2008). A family nurse practitioner acts as the bridge between the physician from the hospital and the patient at home. Many patients, especially the aged who require some special care want to be treated at their homes, and since the number of available doctors is limited compared to the number of patients, it becomes a major challenge to allocate each patient a doctor who will be conducting routine check-ups so as to diagnose the medical status of the patient thus the need for medical nurse practitioners. A family nurse practitioner is sufficiently capable of performing duties of a doctor such as giving injections, or conduction minor operations if required (Grace, 2008). According to the State of California University System, a family nurse practitioner can recommend a patient to a professional physician who is outside her scope of practice. A family nurse practitioner may also work as both a counselor and an educator to her patients about best healthcare practices. For instance, a nurse practitioner may teach a lactating mother on the best way to care for her baby, work with a middle aged person so the minimize the levels of stress and cases of high blood pressure or further assist the elderly on diet so as to maintain an healthy and sufficient nutrition. The role of a family nurse practitioner as both an educator and a counselor are very significant for the primary care of the patients as this prevents further health complications (Aries & Middough, 2010). Family nurse practitioners play a basic role to both the hospital and the patient if a case of surgery arises. Once a family hears that one of their members is undergoing surgery, they experience some emotional aspects which include fear anxiety, and even depression. Recent research has proven that the level of situational anxiety depends on whether the individual and the family have undergone sufficient pre-operative education. Pre-operation education is a form of program where the family nurse practitioner orientates the patient on the procedures that he/she will undergo and this may take the form of a tour to the hospital, play therapy in addition to provision of brochures. Studies that have been conducted between 2004 and 2005 have indicated that the hospitals with pre-education programs have a higher rating of quality care and quick recovery than those that fail to implement such programs (Aries & Middough, 2010). As a result hospitals have resulted to using family nurse practitioners to conduct this pre-operative education practices in an effort to educate the children and their parents during the process of pre-consultation. There exists sufficient records which support the facts that family nurse practitioners have played an important role in improving the quality health care that is given to patients who have undergone surgery. The clinical background of FNPs gives them the liberty to perform all the aspects of pediatric care prior to a major medical operation. These may include delivery of pre-operation instructions, blood work etc (Hamric, 2008). The continued use of family nurse practitioners has been a big milestone in the pediatric surgery sector. The utilization of the FNPs has proven to be both efficient and cost-effective to hospitals since now they no longer hire anesthesiologists to execute these duties. A family nurse practitioner is the best advisor to patients who are about to undergo some risky medical process like a surgery, she may also conduct some minor surgeries on her own like stitching small wounds and dressing them. This can be done at home and in clinics which they are authorized to operate. The location of practice determines the level of a nurse practitioner and the degree of independence may also vary at great length. Sometimes the nurse practitioner may work independently without the assistance and directives of a physician but in some serious cases, they have to work in collaboration with a physician. The role, duties, medical treatments, and other pharmacologic responsibilities are depended on the level and state of the license issued to the family nurse practitioner (Grace, 2008). Generally the responsibilities and duties of a nurse practitioner can be summarized as: Performing and ordering diagnostic procedures and tests Diagnosing and making recommendations about some acute of chronic illness Designing a certain physical therapy and rehabilitation strategies Giving advice on pharmacologic treatments Provision of prenatal care, family planning and screening services Provision of both primary and specialty care Execution of smaller surgeries and operations Giving potential patients education and knowledge on how to avoid illness (Coffman & Edward, 1998). A family nurse practitioner specializes basically in the diagnosis and treatment of the patients in a wide variety of fields regardless of age; this can range from childhood to the aged. The individuals who are attracted by this profession are life-long learners who seek more responsibility and independence s they advance their career. They usually find their professional compliance through evaluation and treatment of patients mostly from specified families. The family nurse practitioners trained to work on their clients in hospitals, government organization, private practice, community health organizations, and other several health care institutions (Hamric, 2008). A family nurse practitioner may be involved in the treatment and rehabilitation o a family member who has been through some hospitalization. It is a fundamental duty of a FNP to care for her patient effectively for she has to ensure that the patient is comfortable and on the right diet in addition to sufficient rest and sleep. Further she is responsible for the removal and disposal of unwanted waste fluids from the body if the patient cannot comfortably relieve him/herself in the toilet. They have to bathe and wash the patients to ensure high standards of hygiene are observed as cleanliness keeps disease vectors away. Further, they have to ensure that the patient is as mobile as possible so as to maintain physical fitness and avoid cases of stiff muscles, pressure sores, and locked joints in addition to the fact that they have to offer emotional support towards the road to recovery (Fairman, 2009). Family nurse Practitioner is also required to work alongside with the doctor/surgeon in an effort to support them during the actual medical treatment of the patient, for example the surgeon will execute the real operation but it will be the onus of the family nurse practitioner to ensure that the surgeon has all the necessary supplements like intravenous drips, administration of drugs, dressing of the wound and several other minor duties. In real sense all the treatment procedures will be authorized by the doctor but it will be the responsibility of the nurse to monitor the progress of the patient after the surgery (Hamric, 2008) Conclusion The roles of a family nurse practitioner are not all that different from other nurses the only that NPFs limit their services to the family as a basic unit. We have observed that family nurse practitioners act as the main connection between physicians and their potential patients by coordinating any activity that may require the attention of the physician on. Further they protect the personal medical records of the patient from unnecessary invasion of privacy in addition to offering proper guidance and counseling to the patient. Research has proven that, NPFs have reduced the cost of treatment considerably as the charges for their services are a bit lower than those that are charged by physicians offering similar services to the same patient. Family nurse practitioners play a very important role in the maintenance of a healthy society where their services cannot be ignored (Grace, 2008). References Aries, N. & Middough, D. (2010). Public Policy and Politics for Nurses & other Healthcare Professionals: Advocacy and Action. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Grace, P. (2008). Nursing Ethics and Professional Responsibility in advanced Practice. Prentice Hall. Coffman, J. & Edward, O. (1998). Strategies for Future Nursing: Changing Roles and Responsibilities. Jossey Bass Fairman, J. (2009). Making Room in the Clinic: Nurse Practitioners and the Evolution of Modern healthcare. Rutgers Press. Hamric, B. (2008). Advanced Practice Nursing. An Integrative Approach. Saunders Press Read More