Who is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner
An advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) is a professional that has a full capacity to work as an advanced generalist as well as offer help and care to patients whose social needs and healthcare needs span across a variety of types and levels. In the environment of primary care, a patient is able to attend consultations with an advanced nurse practitioner or a general practitioner, sometimes even both. Thus, an advanced nurse practitioner can cooperate with the patient in the process of planning care services, provide health care services themselves or together with the employees from social or health care teams (Barr, Stainsby, Dryden, & Aston, 2015, p. 7).
Organization Type and Its Clients
Skills and competencies of an advanced nurse practitioner are of high demand in a number of environments like outpatient settings, nursing homes, hospitals, settings of acute care, universities, and others. However, a nursing home is an environment where the professionalism of an ANP is much needed. The Fairfield Post-Acute Rehabilitation in Fairfield, CA, is a profit nursing home. It holds ninety-nine certified beds and participates in both Medicare and Medicaid programs (U.S. News, n.d., para. 1).
Advanced Nursing Role
It is supported by evidence that advanced nursing practitioners can significantly reduce the rates of hospitalization as well as emergency room transfers of the elderly residents that require care. An ANP is able to offer the required health assessment of a patient as well as conduct an intervention at times when a physician is unable to cover all patients during peak periods of the workload. Thus, the professional help of an ANP is needed in nursing homes in order to improve the outcomes of a facility as well as to provide assistance to MDs at times when patient loads overcome the capabilities of the nursing facility (Effectiveness of Nurse Practitioners in Residential Aged Care Facilities, 2010, p. 3).
Role Implementation
Role implementation of an advanced nurse practitioner is linked to getting access to the provision of care for the elderly residents of the nursing home and the reduction of health care costs through effective healthcare services. On the site, an ANP is expected to offer an in-depth assessment of patients’ state of health, notice any signs of changes in their condition, provide instant treatment if the condition is critical. Furthermore, if a physician is unavailable, an ANP can also facilitate the transfer of a patient to the required department without waiting for the physician’s approval, only in cases when the condition of a patient requires immediate actions.
Nurse Practice Act
Since the Fairfield Post-Acute Rehabilitation belongs to a nursing corporation, the provisions from Article 3.5. Nursing Corporation 2775-2781 related to nursing corporation support the practice of an advanced nurse practitioner in this facility. Under the Nurse Practice Act, “A nursing corporation shall not do or fail to do any act the doing of which or the failure to do which would constitute unprofessional conduct under any statute or regulation, now or hereafter in effect” (California Board of Registered Nursing, n.d., para. 46).
To conclude, the professional help of an advanced nurse practitioner is much needed in such healthcare facilities like nursing homes. By means of quickly assessing the state of patients’ health and being able to solve issues with a focus on the well-being, a nurse practitioner will be able to reduce costs for the organization and provide effective care for elderly patients.
References
Barr, A., Stainsby, K., Dryden, S., & Aston, J. (2015). General Practice. Advanced Nurse Practitioner Competencies. Web.
California Board of Registered Nursing. (n.d.). Nurse Practice Act. Web.
Effectiveness of Nurse Practitioners in Residential Aged Care Facilities. (2010). Web.
U.S. News. (n.d.). Fairfield Post-Acute Rehabilitation – Overview. Web.