Introduction
Historically, nurse practitioners practiced under the direction or orders of the physicians, and without a specific order, their practice was usually limited to traditional nursing roles. Nurse practitioner’s practice has evolved significantly, and legal authority to practice has expanded over time as well. Nurse practitioner’s role continue to expand and change, thus, issues about the scope of their practice sometimes lack the parameters that are clearly defined. Nowadays, each state has a legal Nurse Practice Act that is designed to protect the public (Reel and Abraham 26).
Today we have an enabling environment that encourages health care reforms as well as offering nurse practitioners as well as organizations they work for some untold opportunities. These opportunities include gaining respect, recognition for offering accessible and affordable health care for those in need. Nurse practitioners are situated to play an important role in the participation in the state’s efforts to initiate health care reforms as well as broad population-based health promotion and disease management as well as prevention. The nursing organizational efforts in advanced care reforms have been recognized by President Barack Obama in July 2009 who thanked nurse leaders for their role in supporting the changes (Sullivan-Marx et al. 8).
Nurse Practitioners’ Skills and Competencies
Nurse practitioners are health professionals that have a variety of skills and competencies connected with the nursing practice. They provide health care services to those in need. These services are of the holistic nature that is integrated into the treatment of illnesses. The scope of practice refers to the activities that the nurse practitioners are authorized to perform in their professional work. The scope of nursing practitioner’s practice includes prescribing drugs, referral and the consultations of the physician as well as health care management and diagnosing (Scope of Practice for Nurse Practitioners 7).
Nurse Practitioner VS Registered Nurse
The role of the nurse practitioner is different from the role of the registered nurse. The role of the nurse practitioner involves professional knowledge and skills for making decisions. The skills are typically gained from advanced clinical practices as well as experience and education that allow the nurse practitioner to perform various tasks that are not included in the general practices of the registered nurse. For instance, a nurse practitioner has particular competencies for conducting comprehensive health assessments, diagnosing health conditions of the patient as well as managing chronic illnesses within a holistic care model (Scope of Practice for Nurse Practitioners 1).
Changes in the Scope of Practice
If the nurse practitioner wishes to expand or change their practice scope in order to meet up with the needs and requirements of the group of clients, he or she should take additional education and develop a new skill to meet those requirements. Moreover, it is possible for various professional colleges to establish programs that make benchmarks that are relevant for the further scope of practice of nurse practitioners (Fact sheet: Scope of practice of nurse practitioners 7).
Registered nurse practitioners are educated and qualified in evaluating their patients’ health as well as accounting for taking care of them. Their practice is basid on nursing techniques and involves collaboration with other professionals in the sphere of health care. This collaboration is appropriate in cases of management and assessment of the patient’s health relevant to their specialization area of health care (Buppert 81).
References
Fact Sheet: Scope of practice of nurse practitioners. n.d. Web.
Buppert, Carolyn. Nurse Practitioner’s Business Practice and Legal Guide. 3rd ed. 2008. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Print.
Reel, Sally, and Ivo Abraham. Business and Legal Essentials for Nurse Practitioners: from Negotiating Your First Jon through Owning a Practice, St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier, 2007. Print.
Sullivan-Marx, Eileen, Diane McGivern, Julie Fairman and Sherry Greenberg. Nurse Practitioners: the Evolution and Future of Advanced Practice. 5th ed. 2010. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. Print.
Scope of Practice for Nurse Practitioners. 2016. Web.
Scope of Practice for Nurse Practitioners (NPs). 2011. Web.