Introduction
Nursing education has progressed through significant evolution from the time the training of nurses began. This was necessitated by the urge to assume the responsibility of primary care providers for young children. Historically, nursing programs were not undertaken in learning institutions, such as colleges, as compared to the current state. As an alternative, they were temporary continuing education plans. Nursing education has advanced over time to the present doctor of nursing practice. From its humble beginning, nursing education has improved and spread worldwide in an attempt to enable nurses to diagnose and treat illnesses in patients by adhering to practices that were restricted to physicians before.
Differences between Advanced Nursing Practice and Advanced Practice Nursing
The idea of distinguishing advanced nursing practice from advanced practice nursing was established in the recognition of the contributions and tasks of all nurses at the graduate rank. An advanced practice nurse is deemed a practicing caregiver who has been trained to offer care to patients in a medical role, for example, adult nurse practitioners, family nurse consultants, pediatric nurses, and geriatric caregivers to mention a few.
The general notion is that any nurse who holds a master’s degree is automatically qualified to be in advanced nursing practice though not essentially in advanced practice nursing. Unlike advanced nursing practice, advanced practice nursing demands post-graduate education, and nurses are equipped with superior instructive and medical knowledge, proficiencies, and scope of operation (Bryant‐Lukosius et al. 202).
Such nurses make more decisions regarding the necessary care that patients require when compared to caregivers in advanced nursing practice. On the contrary, advanced nursing practitioners need only set policies and basic educational training to practice. Advanced practice nurses have a more expanded task in the management of individual patients and groups. Different from advanced practice nursing, though promoting the role of advanced nursing practice may assist nurses to undertake some tasks and backlog of junior physicians, it might happen at the cost of vital duties of the nurse (Rolfe 21). Advanced nursing practice is just concerned with the improvement of the knowledge of the nurse beyond conventional limits.
The Population Served Through Advanced Nursing Practice Role
Advanced nursing practitioners can specialize in numerous patient populations. They include adult-gerontology, psychiatric, pediatrics, neonatal, women’s health, and family. There is a need for nurses in advanced nursing practice, for example, clinical specialists, to tackle intricate rising health problems, reform policies, and establish processes in different populations. Clinical nurse specialists in advanced nursing practice enjoy an exceptional position on the frontline, with the driving force for the commencement of the programs emerging from the sophisticated activities in the field (Heale and Buckley 422). Before the start of advanced nursing practice programs, the existing faculties were independently diagnosing and treating diseases, offering care to patients with minor illnesses, educating students, carrying out medical research, and billing services.
Attributable to their profound knowledge and experience in different patient populations, advanced nursing practitioners may be found in diverse settings such as big hospitals and learning institutions. In the current healthcare system, nurses in advanced nursing practice acquire a blend of medical, economic, management, and organizational proficiencies that enable them to analyze medical and care activities, in addition to designing programs that have a noteworthy positive influence on the patient populations they serve.
This has enabled them to provide care to a culturally diverse population. Advanced nursing practice roles do not interfere with the actual scale of performance for nurses at any given level (Heale and Buckley 424). On the contrary, they advocate working together with other nurses and stakeholders in nursing units, for example, the ones who hold a master’s degree, to serve as managers, agents of change, and evaluators of effective care.
Certification Opportunities
Registered nurses may increase their opportunities through proceeding with education to become certified advanced nursing practitioners. Advanced nursing practice requires enhanced learning to at least a master’s level. Certification opportunities encompass a broad scope of skills, improved assessment capabilities, the knowledge to strategize and implement care successfully, and proficiency to give proper diagnoses (Boyko et al. 278). Master of Science in nursing programs enables caregivers to develop into professionals in numerous specialties hence they can be engaged in the medical aid of particular populations and illnesses.
Licensure, Accreditation, Certification, and Education Plan
Licensure, Accreditation, Certification, and Education (LACE) was established with the involvement of advanced nursing practice seeks to elucidate and create consensus on the designations of nurses. Stakeholders and agencies in advanced nursing practices are directing their energy in the recognition and facilitation of educational requirements, certification, accreditation perspective, and standardized licensure. I plan to acquire a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a Master of Science in nursing. This will allow certification in my area of specialty, which is provided by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
A universal requirement for participating in the certification assessment is having a valid registered nurse license (Hooshmand et al. 133). After the initial certification, the American Nurses Credentialing Center should continue recertifying me, as a clinical nurse specialist, after every 5 years. This necessitates a specified period of medical practice hours, in addition to proceeding with education in a given specialty area of clinical nurse specialist. Moreover, I will require further accreditation by the state nursing board to be authorized to practice freely. A doctor of nursing practice will act as my final clinical nurse specialist degree to show that I am a professional in the selected specialty.
State-Specific Implications
Advanced nursing practice will have an impact on a clinical nurse specialist’s career by offering numerous opportunities through the pursuit of state positions in the profession. A doctor of nursing practice program provides knowledge and skills in topics linked to the administration of health institutions and patient care thus enabling clinical nurse specialists to pursue leadership roles. For clinical nurse specialists willing to take their career to the next level, enrolment in doctoral programs is the right course on which to embark (Boyko et al. 279). Acquiring a doctor of nursing practice will enable nurses to transform their careers in numerous ways.
Earning a doctor of nursing practice degree will offer qualifications for various positions that are not available to nurses having lower education, for example, a bachelor of science in nursing. Whether desiring to become a clinical leader, pursuing an academic path, or management function, a doctor of nursing practice will offer the necessary skills. Some of the opportunities for nurses who have completed a doctoral degree encompass chief nursing officer, clinical nurse specialist, nurse anesthetist, nurse educator, nurse manager/director, nurse midwife, and nurse practitioner to mention a few. Such positions are available in different health care settings such as hospitals, private care establishments, and nursing colleges.
Conclusion
From its inauguration, nursing education has expanded and progressed to the extent of enabling nurses to diagnose and treat patients’ diseases in approaches that were just limited to experts in the past. Excellently prepared nurses are critical in the current healthcare system since they facilitate tackling complex problems, improving policies, and generating processes. A doctor of nursing practice degree has a tremendous influence on the nursing profession as it provides many opportunities through the development of knowledge and skills.
Works Cited
Boyko, Jennifer, et al. “Assessing the Spread and Uptake of a Framework for Introducing and Evaluating Advanced Practice Nursing Roles.” Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, vol. 13, no. 4, 2016, pp. 277-284.
Bryant‐Lukosius, Denise, et al. “Framework for Evaluating the Impact of Advanced Practice Nursing Roles.” Journal of Nursing Scholarship, vol. 48, no. 2, 2016, pp. 201-209.
Heale, Roberta, and Rieck Buckley. “An International Perspective of Advanced Practice Nursing Regulation.” International Nursing Review, vol. 62, no. 3, 2015, pp. 421-429.
Hooshmand, Mary, et al. “Transforming Health Care through Meaningful Doctor of Nursing Practice Community Partnerships.” Nurse Educator, vol. 44, no. 3, 2019, pp. 132-136.
Rolfe, G. “Advanced Nursing Practice 1: Understanding Advanced Nursing Practice.” Nursing Times, vol. 110, no. 27, 2014, pp. 20-23.