Analysis of the Nurse Practitioner - Research Paper Example

? Section/# Discussion and Analysis of the Nurse Practitioner Within the healthcare profession, there are a number of individual career paths that are available to the individual. Some of these require a high level of education and continuing education whereas others can be attained/achieved in a relatively short period of time. Arguably, one of the most demanding and highest time requirement careers within the field of nursing is with regards to the nurse practitioner. Although the nurse practitioner has many of the same responsibilities and areas of focus that traditional registered nurses have, the level of ability and overall expertise that such a title necessarily portends extends far beyond the responsibilities that a traditional registered nurse or licensed practical nurse can engage in. By the same token, the nurse practitioner is able to engage in many of the same roles and responsibilities that have traditionally been reserved for doctors. However, it should not be understood by the reader that the nurse practitioner is completely on par with a doctor; rather, they merely fulfill some of these responsibilities while existing and operating within other specialities in a complimentary role. Job Description: Ultimately, the nurse practitioner is a type of advanced nurse that helps and interacts with a variety of aspects pertaining to patient care. These can include but are not limited to treatment, consultation, and diagnosis. Additionally, it is common for nurse practitioners to also engage in both inpatient and outpatient consultation with even some nurse practitioners able to prescribe certain drugs. Their field of expertise comes close to that of a physician’s assistant due to the fact that they are able to conduct physicals and order tests for patients as well as serving as a primary healthcare provider. Another way in which the nurse practitioner is differentiated from others within the healthcare profession is with regards to the degree requirements that they have as compared to others. Whereas registered nurses must complete four years of university, the nurse practitioner must complete the same requirement as well as having at least two years of work experience and then transitioning and successfully completing a master’s program in nursing (Barton ,2006). Such a stringent and involved metric of success necessarily requires that the nurse practitioner will integrate with anywhere from 8-10 years of education and training prior to finally attaining their degree. Although this requirement may seem extreme, the fact of the matter is that it is a necessary requirement to ensure that a high quality of care can be provided by these primary health care providers. Employment Opportunities: As one might expect, the employment opportunities that are available to nurse practitioners are somewhat more constrained than with regards to the more plentiful types of nursing majors that have here and then discussed. For this very reason, it is common to find nurse practitioners serving alongside doctors in large healthcare institutions and providing a complimentary role to the many health care needs and requirements of the patients that the doctors are merely not able to attend. However, a common trend that has been evidenced within the past several years with regards to nurse practitioners and the employment opportunities that they have is with regards to community-based nurse practitioners operating and opening their own practices (Career Choices for ANP, 2007). Whereas such a function has traditionally been reserved for doctors, nurse practitioners within the current era are serving the needs of specific populations and acting as a primary health care provider the individuals under their care. Due to the advanced roles and responsibilities which have partly been discussed within the previous section, the nurse practitioner is able to fulfill an extant need (Begley et al, 2013). Professional Activities: Arguably, nurse practitioners also must integrate with the highest level of continuing education. As a function of just, a great deal of their time is spent in meeting the metrics and milestones of key continuing education insert additional grounds that exist within their region/state (Hayes et al, 2002). Due to the fact that one must necessarily be a nurse practitioner prior to integrating with any of these continuing educational units or professional groups, it is not available to students to join based upon fascination or interest alone (Fellows of the American Nurse Practitioner Society, 2007(. Instead, these professional entities exist solely as a means of benefiting and promoting the career aspirations and development of the healthcare providers within their midst. Lastly, with regards to how I see this particular profession fitting into my career aspirations, it must be said that the nurse practitioner is a goal that I have set my sights on. One of the greatest benefits about the nurse practitioner profession is with regards to the fact that seeking to make a determination at the current time with regards to how I might achieve this particular dream is not necessary. Whereas in other fields it is necessary to differentiate oneself in the undergraduate program and seek to determine specifically what career path will be taken, within the field of a registered nursing degree, it is possible to seek to complete the registered nursing requirements to the best of one’s ability, then enter into the workforce, just as any other individual, attain two years of training and work experience and subsequently apply for entry into a Masters program/nurse practitioners program (Unac, 2010). In such a way, it is possible to seek to benefit one’s career by following the same approach that one might otherwise follow for any other career choice within the field in question. However, with regards to what was learned as a result of integrating with an understanding of what requirements led to the nurse practitioners certification and qualifications, it must be stated that this author came to the profound appreciation the fact that the nurse practitioner not only integrates with a high level of education, they also are responsible and culpable for a high level of decision-making power and authority. Although this power and authority is not something that I see, the challenge of being able to make determinations by oneself and not continually be reliant upon doctors as the final decision-maker with regards to each and every choice is an attractive aspect of the nurse practitioners goals and career responsibilities. References 2007 Fellows of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. (2007). Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 19(10), 546-553. doi:10.1111/j.1745-7599.2007.00263.x Career Choices for ACNPs. (2007). Critical Care Nurse, 2722-26. Barton, T. (2006). Nurse practitioners -- or advanced clinical nurses?. British Journal Of Nursing, 15(7), 370-376. Begley, C., Elliott, N., Lalor, J., Coyne, I., Higgins, A., & Comiskey, C. M. (2013). Differences between clinical specialist and advanced practitioner clinical practice, leadership, and research roles, responsibilities, and perceived outcomes (the SCAPE study). Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 69(6), 1323-1337. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2012.06124.x Hayes, E., Chandler, G., Merriam, D., & King, M. (2002). Nurse practitioner education. The master's portfolio: validating a career in advanced practice nursing. Journal Of The American Academy Of Nurse Practitioners, 14(3), 119-125. doi:10.1111/j.1745-7599.2002.tb00102.x Unac, F. (2011). Nurse Practitioner registration: accepting the challenge. Dissector, 39(3), 11-14. Read More