Although nursing can be seen as one job function, it has many variations and sub functions. Nursing is one of the oldest professions in the world, so it had enough time to develop as a mainstream profession in the healthcare industry. Due to the variety in the profession, there are so many careers and levels in nursing. Nurse practitioner is one of those levels of the nursing job and there are specific roles and responsibilities done by this level of a professional. Let’s have a look at the functioning of this category of nursing job.
Usually, a nurse practitioner is an advanced practice nurse who has post graduate qualifications in nursing. The nurse practitioner should have a master’s or doctoral degree in order to become a nurse practitioner. In addition to the post graduate qualifications, the nurse practitioner is required to obtain some other industry specific certifications and licenses. When compared to a general registered nurse, the nurse practitioner has more educational qualifications, experience, training, and aware of a greater scope of the industry. If a nurse practitioner wants to become a licensed practitioner, they want to get themselves certified on a specific area such as adult, women’s health, babies, etc.
The scope of a nurse practitioner is quite large compared to the rest of the nursing staff. The responsibilities in this scope vary from diagnosing diseases to counseling the patients in disease prevention etc. Therefore, the nurse practitioner should have extensive knowledge in what he or she practices and also good interpersonal skills. The nurse practitioner should be a good communicator and should be able to work with anyone, including coworkers and the patients.
Usually the work place of a nurse practitioner differs from walk-in clinics to nursing schools. The nurse practitioner is usually educated and trained to work in any of these environments and under any condition. In general terms, nurse practitioner is as same as a special force commando that has been trained to do anything to achieve the mission objectives.
When it comes to nurse practitioner, an array of post nominal credentials and initials can be used, illustrating their qualifications. This usually includes their academic qualifications, licenses, and the specialties that they have achieved through assessments and examinations. In the US, the practitioner is required to have at least a post graduate diploma in order to become a nurse practitioner. But some states require you to have a master’s degree or a PhD in nursing to become a nurse practitioner.
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