Introduction
In nursing, the scope of practice of a nurse practitioner is rather diverse and multifaceted. Their list of duties, responsibilities, and tasks to accomplish on a daily basis is long and may vary from one day to another. Nursing is one of the most flexible and fast-developing career fields where the practitioners are expected to deliver care in very tense and changeable environments with a heavy reliance on expert knowledge and technologies.
Analysis
As explained by CRNBC (2016), “scope of practice refers to the activities that nurse practitioners are educated and authorized to perform” (p. 7). The range of activities mentioned above is established and regulated legally based on the legal definition of the professional practice of nurses (CRNBC, 2016). The American Nurse Association (2016) mentions that the nurse practitioner’s scope of practice involves “the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how” of nursing practice” (para. 1). In other words, this concept involves all the potential duties and responsibilities of this profession available. In fact, each nursing specialty has a scope of practice that is different from the others due to the specific activities typical for each field of nursing.
The scope of practice of a nurse practitioner includes the evaluation, assessment, and treatment of the patients and a variety of professional activities related to addressing their health care needs (Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice, 2016). In addition, the scope of practice includes the regulations and limitations of the professional activities based on the licensing and certification. Some of the duties typical for one type of nurse are not included in the practice of the others.
For instance, a nurse practitioner (NP) is certified to prescribe medications and tests while an RN does not have such practice privileges; also, an NP’s scope can be expanded via education providing new competencies and qualifications (Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice, 2016).
In addition, the scope of practice of an NP is regulated by the state legislation and may vary depending on where the professional is employed. For instance, the medication prescription is one of such activities. In some of the states, a nurse practitioner is able to prescribe substances controlled by Schedule II, however, this activity is limited in the other states and requires a complex procedure and the approval of a physician (Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice, 2016).
Due to the wide range of the professional competencies and skills of a nurse practitioner, their scope of practice include many roles such as that of an educator, a researcher, a health care provider, and a consultant; moreover, due to the broad range of duties, the modern NPs also do diagnostic testing, medication prescription, and treatment of conditions of chronic, episodic, and acute nature (Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice, 2016). It is worth noticing that the combination of skills possessed by nursing practitioners is quite unique and provides many practice opportunities.
Conclusion
Besides all the other professional benefits, the skills of a nursing practitioner are applicable in a variety of settings and fields. In fact, in some states, the scope of a nurse practitioner’s activities may involve the performance of invasive treatments and in others, an NP may be responsible for hospital admissions; also, NPs are employed by various institutions such as medical, health, or surgical centers, hospitals, large healthcare organizations, hospices, private or free clinics, and home care agencies (Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice, 2016).
References
CRNBC. (2016). Scope of Practice for Nurse Practitioners. Web.
Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice. (2016).
The American Nurse Association. (2016). Scope and Standards of Practice.