Advanced Practice Nurse Role: Family Nurse Practitioner
“The International Council of Nurses defines an advance practice nurse as a registered nurse who has acquired the expert knowledge base, complex decision-making skills and clinical competencies for expanded practice.” (What is a nurse practitioner/advanced practice nurse?) Overtime many studies have continued to display the vital asset in which Advance Practice Nurses persistently play in the healthcare world. The Advance Practice Nurse is widely knowledgeable in health promotion and prevention. They strive in educating their patient population as they maintain a level of accountability in providing quality care.
Family Nurse Practitioner Role
There are Four Advance Practice Nurse roles. The roles are the Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Anesthetists, and the Nurse Midwives. The role, which will be presented throughout this paper, is the Family Nurse Practitioner role. The Family Nurse Practitioner is a graduate level nurse who practices as an independent provider in areas, of ambulatory, acute and long-term care. Within the healthcare system they aim to provide evidenced based quality care.
The International Journal of Nursing Science study stated, “A patient-focused approach was commonly discussed as a valued attribute of NPs.” (Hurlock chorostecki, Van, Macmillan, Sidani, 2016) Many patients feel valued by their Nurse Practitioner, because they are able to have a form of communication that keeps them well informed and also an active part of the decision making of their health care. Many patients at times feel that this form of communication is lacked within health care. The bedside nurse level of care is one area of nursing that helps the Nurse Practitioner to connect to their patients on a different level from other types of providers.
Family Nurse Practitioner: Clinical Role and Patient Outcome
The Nurse Practitioner role is reflected as a clinical role, providing direct care to their patient population. The American Academy of Nursing on Policy Article stated, “Empirical evidence highlights that APRNs can be more fully utilized without compromising patient outcomes” (American &Tracy, 2014) Nurse Practitioners have been proven in many studies to have positive effects on patient care and lowering the cost of healthcare.
The American Academy of Nursing Policy article, stated, “APRNs are effective in maximizing reimbursement that is based on the quality of patient outcomes, and teams that include acute and critical care APRNs are more likely to adhere to clinical practice guidelines that improve patient outcomes than teams without APRNs.”(American &Tracy, 2014) Family Nurse practitioners work jointly with other health care workers to provide holistic patient care. They are advocate for their patients and through communication they build strong rapport with their patients, which helps to gain an understanding of that patient specific needs. Nurse Practitioners have gained a high level of satisfaction through the years from the community and continue to prove themselves to be attentive and empathetic Providers.
Advance Nursing Concept: Direct Care
The Advance Nurse Concept in which I am going to address when it comes to the role of the Family Nurse Practitioner is direct care. Direct patient focused care is an essential part of the Family Nurse Practitioner role. Though there are many other concepts, which could have been applied to this role I chose this one because I feel it represents the principal of what it means to be a Family Nurse Practitioner. Providing care through education and promotion of health to the people within the community is vital towards improving health care today.
Interview with Casi P Gilmer, FNP
On October 6th 2018 I will be interviewing a Family Nurse Practitioner Casi P Gilmer FNP, who practices at High Smith Rainey Specialty Hospital in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I have developed Ten Questions, which I will present in the upcoming interview. These questions can help me to inquire on the role of the Family Nurse Practitioner so that I can have a realistic outlook on what it entails.
- Do you feel in your role as a Family Nurse Practitioner that you are making a difference? How?
- Did you feel that you were prepared to practice as a Provider after completing your Nurse Practitioner Program?
- What is the most difficult aspect of being a Family Nurse Practitioner?
- How do you contribute to Patient Outcome?
- Do you feel as Provider you gain the same level of respects as Medical Doctor?
- What are some possible limitations you may have dealt with during your practice?
- How many patients do you normally see in a day? How practicable is this amount?
- Can you describe your typical workday?
- What are some Professional Challenges you may have encountered throughout your Career as a Family Nurse Practitioner?
- What advice can you give to fellow nurses who are interested in becoming a family Nurse Practitioner?
Work Cited
- American, D. C., & Tracy, M. F. (2014, July). American Academy of Nursing: Improving health and health care systems with advanced practice registered nurse practice in acute and critical care settings. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25353040
- Hurlock-Chorostecki, C., van Soeren, M., MacMillan, K., Sidani, S., Donald, F., & Reeves, S. (2016). Original Article: A qualitative study of nurse practitioner promotion of interprofessional care across institutional settings: Perspectives from different healthcare professionals. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 3, 3–10. https://doi-org.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/10.1016/j.ijnss.2016.02.003
- Parker, R., Forrest, L., Ward, N., McCracken, J., Cox, D., & Derrett, J. (2013). How acceptable are primary health care nurse practitioners to Australian consumers? Collegian, 20(1), 35–41. https://doi-org.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/10.1016/j.colegn.2012.03.001
- What is a nurse practitioner/advanced practice nurse (NP/APN)? (N.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2018, from http://international.aanp.org/Home/FAQ
