Abstract
Family Nurse Practitioners (FNPs) should get the best education in clinical practice. These practitioners possess powerful skills and concepts that can improve the nature of nursing. This essay gives a detailed description of this advanced practice role. The essay explains how FNPs can promote patient safety. The essay also gives summaries of two research articles. The paper also gives a short summary of one expert opinion article.
Advanced Practice Role: Family Nurse Practitioner
The selected nursing role is that of a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). This advanced practice role makes it easier for post-graduate nurses to offer quality care to their patients. Family Nurse Practitioner is also “a Master’s Program that empowers post-graduate nurses to provide leadership in evaluating, implementing, and developing the best healthcare interventions” (Peterson, Phillips, Puffer, Bazemore, & Petterson, 2013, p. 244). Such competencies make it easier for FNPs to support the health needs of different children, families, and communities. This fact explains why FNPs should get the best education in clinical practice. They should also possess different skills and concepts in order to improve the nature of nursing. Family Nurse Practitioners should also acquire evidence-based skills. This strategy will “ensure such FNPs offer primary care to many patients throughout the lifespan” (Peterson et al., 2013, p. 244).
These practitioners should develop adequate primary care practices and programs. They also develop innovative strategies that can result in positive health outcomes. This knowledge makes it easier for them to address the changing health needs of different communities. Some of the targeted individuals live in underserved communities and rural areas. This advanced practice role is intended to provide a wide range of medical services. For instance, FNPs promote the best medical practices and disease-prevention strategies. According to Freed, Dunham, Loveland-Cherry, and Martyn (2010, p. 862), “counseling across the lifespan is one of the critical roles of a Family Nurse Practitioner”. They should also perform the best diagnostic tests in order to offer the right medications. They also encourage their patients and families to embrace the best lifestyle practices.
Family Nurse Practice as a Clinical Role: Promoting Patient Safety
Nurse Practitioners (NPs) should use different guidelines and principles in order to improve the quality of care. A number of National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) are used to support the health outcomes of many patients. Such goals are also used to identify clinical and non-clinical roles. The above advanced practice role is clinical in nature. This is the case because Family Nurse Practitioners (FNPs) provide quality healthcare in many settings. These caregivers possess powerful skills that can support the changing health needs of their patients. They can also offer quality care to individuals of all ages. They also support patients in different rural regions. This role “prepares nurses for complex clinical practice that involves families across the health continuum” (Peterson et al., 2013, p. 244).
Family Nurse Practitioners should focus on different NPSGs in order to promote patient safety. The first goal is to improve the nature of practitioner-patient communication. This practice will result in better practices that can improve the level of patient support. The other goal is reducing (and preventing) the number of medical errors. Such errors can be disastrous in every healthcare setting. FNPs should reduce such errors in order to support every targeted patient. Some “patients are usually at risk of suicide” (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014, p. 4). FNPs should use their competencies to guide, treat, and mentor every targeted patient. Such “practitioners should also prevent every hospital-acquired infection” (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014, p. 9). This clinical practice will support the health needs of every vulnerable patient. Family Nurse Practitioners can work in different primary care settings. Some of these settings include homecare centers, community health clinics, and healthcare institutions. These practitioners can also use modern technologies to identify their patients. They should also deal with different medication errors. They should also use different disease management programs (DMPs) and medications to support their patients. This discussion shows clearly that FNPs can promote the level of patient safety.
Summary of Articles
Research Article One
The article “Family Nurse Practitioners: Roles and Scope of Practice in the Care of Pediatric Patients” explores the role of FNPs in different healthcare settings. These Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are usually “educated to provide competent care to many patients across the life span” (Freed et al., 2010, p. 862). According to the article, the United States has a large number of Family Nurse Practitioners. The purpose of the study was to examine the role of these practitioners in different pediatric practices. The study shows that many FNPs were not supporting the health needs of adult patients. Majority of the targeted children were not getting the required medical support. The study encourages different stakeholders to train more NPs. This practice will produce competent practitioners who can support the health needs of many children.
The researchers observed that “there was an increase in the number of these advanced role practitioners” (Freed et al., 2010, p. 863). However, majority of these FNPs were not providing quality care to different children. The authors show clearly that these practitioners do not influence the availability of quality care to many children. That being the case, more NPs should be trained in order to offer subspecialty care to the targeted children. This strategy will support the changing health needs of many children in the community. New specialties such as Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (PNPs) should be supported in order to improve the health conditions of many children.
Research Article Two
Poor school attendance affects the performance of many learners. The article “Does Contact by a Family Nurse Practitioner Decrease Early School Absence?” describes the relationship between academic performance and nursing literature. Early school absence is a major malpractice that affects many young learners. According to the authors, the presence of NPs may decrease the rate of absenteeism. FNPs should be encouraged to work in different school-based health centers (SBHCs). This practice will produce a contented learning population. This practice will also improve the level of school attendance. The article offers powerful strategies that can support the needs of many learners. A proper “nursing intervention has the potential to decrease the rate of early school absence” (Kerr et al., 2011, p. 3). FNPs should educate more guardians and parents in order to support the health needs of their children. This approach will produce the best results.
According to the study, Family Nurse Practitioners (FNPs) should always visit different schools and homes. This “intervention should focus on families of excessively absent students” (Kerr et al., 2011, p. 5). Personal “outreach and contact will ensure many families understand the importance of education” (Kerr et al., 2011, p. 5). The involvement of FNPs can produce positive results. This is possible because the rate of absenteeism will decrease significantly. This development will eventually result in better academic performance. Family Nurse Practitioners (FNPs) have “the potential to support the educational, health, and social needs of many communities” (Kerr et al., 2011, p. 8). This practice will support the health needs of many communities. FNPs can therefore influence the educational and health trajectory of many learners.
Expert Opinion Article
It is agreeable that Family Nurse Practitioners can use primary care models to offer the best patient support. The expert opinion article “The Affordable Care Act: Primary Care and the Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse” examines how FNPs can use the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to support many vulnerable populations. Many NPs in America are unable to provide quality and evidence-based care to their patients. This challenge arises from the existing legal barriers that limit the roles of these Nurse Practitioners. The ACA offers a powerful healthcare model that can support the needs of many communities. The ACA can make it easier for different medical professionals to provide healthcare leadership (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014). Such FNPs should form interdisciplinary teams. Such teams will promote the best medical practices. FNPs should “also advocate for proper policy practices” (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014, p. 4).
FNPs have a powerful role towards enhancing preventive healthcare. They should also “promote various leadership programs in order to strengthen primary care delivery” (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014, p. 16). This expert opinion highlights the best practices that can improve the nature of care. The ACA presents “a powerful system that can support the future of medical practice” (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014, p. 15). Advanced Role Practice Nurses (ARPNs) should “always be ready to provide leadership in the use of evidence-based competencies” (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014, p. 19). FNPs should use these ideas in order to prevent different health problems. The government should also support the roles of these practitioners.
Reference List
Freed, G., Dunham, K., Loveland-Cherry, C., & Martyn, K. (2010). Family Nurse Practitioners: Roles and Scope of Practice in the Care of Pediatric Patients. Pediatrics, 126(5), 861-864.
Kerr, J., Price, M., Kotch, J., Willis, S., Fisher, M., & Silva, S. (2011). Does Contact by a Family Nurse Practitioner Decrease Early School Absence? The Journal of School Nursing, 1(1), 1-9.
Lathrop, B., & Hodnicki, D. (2014). The Affordable Care Act: Primary Care and the Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 19(1), 1-24.
Peterson, L., Phillips, R., Puffer, J., Bazemore, A., & Petterson, S. (2013). Most Family Physicians Work Routinely With Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, or Certified Nurse Midwives. JABFM, 26(3), 244-245.