Occupation | |
---|---|
Occupation type | profession |
Activity sectors | healthcare, advanced practice registered nurse |
Description | |
Education required | Master's degree or Doctorate degree |
Related jobs | nurse midwife, nurse anesthetist, clinical nurse specialist |
An adult-gerontology nurse practitioner (AGNP) is a nurse practitioner that specializes in continuing and comprehensive healthcare for adults across the lifespan from adolescence to old age. [1]
Following educational preparation at the master's or doctoral level, AGNPs must become board certified by an approved certification body. Board certification must be maintained by obtaining nursing continuing education credits. [2] To align with the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, certification exams and credentials are in transition. Prior to the consensus statement, adult health nurse practitioners (NPs) and gerontological NPs were educated and certified separately. The consensus model combined these into a single population focus. The specialty is further divided into primary care and acute care. In the US, board certification is provided through the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (awards the ACNPC-AG credential for acute care), or the American Nurses Credentialing Center (awards the AGACNP-BC credential for acute care and the AGPCNP-BC credential for primary care), through the American Association of Nurse Practitioners certification program (awards the NP-C credential for primary care. [3]
AGNPs deliver a range of acute, chronic and preventive healthcare services. In addition to diagnosing and treating illness, they also provide preventive care, including routine checkups, health-risk assessments, immunization and screening tests, and personalized counseling on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. AGNPs also manage chronic illness, often coordinating care provided by specialty physicians. AGNPs that work in acute care settings often care for hospitalized patients in collaboration with physicians and other providers. AGNPs can be found practicing in a variety of medical facilities including hospices, long-term care facilities, hospitals, home-based care, correctional institutes and primary practices. [4] The scope of practice varies from state to state because nurse practice laws and regulations are specific to the state the nurse practitioner practices in. [5]
By 2030, older people are expected to outnumber children aged 10 to 14 (1.35 billion versus 1 billion), eventually surpassing the number of adolescents and young people worldwide. [6]
Nurses need to be prepared to provide safe, effective and quality care to this population, including learning to recognise the unique differences in cultural needs around the world. Older people have three characteristics to look out for: frailty, disability and comorbidities. [7]
Although specific responsibilities may depend on specialty and type of employment, these are the most common responsibilities for AGNP: [8]
The School of Nursing is the graduate school of nursing at Columbia University in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1892, it stands as one of the oldest nursing schools in the United States.
A nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse and a type of mid-level practitioner. NPs are trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose disease, formulate and prescribe medications and treatment plans. NP training covers basic disease prevention, coordination of care, and health promotion, but does not provide the depth of expertise needed to recognize more complex conditions.
An advanced practice nurse (APN) is a nurse with post-graduate education and training in nursing. Nurses practicing at this level may work in either a specialist or generalist capacity. APNs are prepared with advanced didactic and clinical education, knowledge, skills, and scope of practice in nursing.
Nursing credentials and certifications are the various credentials and certifications that a person must have to practice nursing legally. Nurses' postnominal letters reflect their credentials—that is, their achievements in nursing education, licensure, certification, and fellowship. The letters usually appear in the following order:
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN) is a graduate schools of Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. VUSN has a close relationship with its university parent and the separate nonprofit Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The School of Nursing is ranked in the top 10 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Additionally, its master of science program is ranked 8th and its doctor of nursing practice program 6th in the report's 2022 graduate school rankings.
A clinical nurse specialist (CNS) is an advanced practice nurse who can provide advice related to specific conditions or treatment pathways. According to the International Council of Nurses (ICN), an Advanced Practice Nurse is a registered nurse who has acquired the expert knowledge base, complex decision-making skills and clinical competencies for expanded practice, the characteristics of which are shaped by the context and/or country in which s/he is credentialed to practice. Clinical Nurse Specialists are registered nurses who have had graduate level nursing preparation at the master's or doctoral level as a CNS. They are clinical experts in evidence-based nursing practice within a specialty area, treating and managing the health concerns of patients and populations. The CNS specialty may be focused on individuals, populations, settings, type of care, type of problem, or diagnostic systems subspecialty. CNSs practice autonomously and integrate knowledge of disease and medical treatments into the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of patients' illnesses. These nurses design, implement, and evaluate both patient–specific and population-based programs of care. CNSs provide leadership in the advanced practice of nursing to achieve quality and cost-effective patient outcomes as well as provide leadership of multidisciplinary groups in designing and implementing innovative alternative solutions that address system problems and/or patient care issues. In many jurisdictions, CNSs, as direct care providers, perform comprehensive health assessments, develop differential diagnoses, and may have prescriptive authority. Prescriptive authority allows them to provide pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments and order diagnostic and laboratory tests in addressing and managing specialty health problems of patients and populations. CNSs serve as patient advocates, consultants, and researchers in various settings.
Critical care nursing is the field of nursing with a focus on the utmost care of the critically ill or unstable patients following extensive injury, surgery or life threatening diseases. Critical care nurses can be found working in a wide variety of environments and specialties, such as general intensive care units, medical intensive care units, surgical intensive care units, trauma intensive care units, coronary care units, cardiothoracic intensive care units, burns unit, paediatrics and some trauma center emergency departments. These specialists generally take care of critically ill patients who require mechanical ventilation by way of endotracheal intubation and/or titratable vasoactive intravenous medications.
Emergency nursing is a specialty within the field of professional nursing focusing on the care of patients who require prompt medical attention to avoid long-term disability or death. In addition to addressing "true emergencies," emergency nurses increasingly care for people who are unwilling or unable to get primary medical care elsewhere and come to emergency departments for help. In fact, only a small percentage of emergency department (ED) patients have emergency conditions such as a stroke, heart attack or major trauma. Emergency nurses also tend to patients with acute alcohol and/or drug intoxication, psychiatric and behavioral problems and those who have been raped.
Gerontological nursing is the specialty of nursing pertaining to older adults. Gerontological nurses work in collaboration with older adults, their families, and communities to support healthy aging, maximum functioning, and quality of life. The term gerontological nursing, which replaced the term geriatric nursing in the 1970s, is seen as being more consistent with the specialty's broader focus on health and wellness, in addition to illness.
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association (ANA), is a certification body for nursing board certification and the largest certification body for advanced practice registered nurses in the United States, as of 2011 certifying over 75,000 APRNs, including nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists.
A family nurse practitioner (FNP) provides continuing and comprehensive healthcare for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and body systems. Primary care emphasizes the holistic nature of health and it is based on knowledge of the patient in the context of the family and the community, emphasizing disease prevention and health promotion.
Nurses in Canada practise in a wide variety of settings, with various levels of training and experience. They provide evidence-based care and educate their patients about health and disease.
The Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston (UTHealth) is an American nursing education institution.
A women's health nurse practitioner (WHNP) is a nurse practitioner that specializes in continuing and comprehensive healthcare for women across the lifespan with emphasis on conditions unique to women from menarche through the remainder of their life cycle.
A pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP) is a nurse practitioner who specializes in care for newborns, infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers, school-aged children, adolescents, and young adults. Nurse practitioners have an in-depth knowledge and experience in pediatric healthcare including well childcare, and prevention/management of common pediatric acute illnesses and chronic conditions. This care is provided to support optimal health of children within the context of their family, community, and environmental setting. In order to be a pediatric nurse practitioner one must be compassionate, resourceful, good at communicating and have good attention to detail. In the past couple decades, the job of a nurse practitioner has nearly doubled in the United States. Pediatric nurse practitioner numbers have stayed relatively the same. It is expected that the demand for the PNPs will start to increase in our society. This demand comes from children with chronic illnesses which are surviving and having diseases. PNPs are mostly taking over offices over the physicians, but still work side by side.
A neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) is an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) with at least 2 years experience as a bedside registered nurse in a Level III NICU, who is prepared to practice across the continuum, providing primary, acute, chronic, and critical care to neonates, infants, and toddlers through age 2. Primarily working in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) settings, NNPs select and perform clinically indicated advanced diagnostic and therapeutic invasive procedures. In the United States, a board certified neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP-BC) is an APRN who has acquired Graduate education at the master’s or doctoral level and has a board certification in neonatology. The National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners (NANNP) is the national association that represents neonatal nurse practitioners in the United States. Certification is governed by the National Certification Corporation for Obstetrics, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing Specialties (NCC).
Post-Hospitalist Medicine is the discipline concerned with the medical care of patients residing in Post-Acute, Long-Term Care, Rehabilitation and Assisted Living Facilities. The Physicians whose primary professional focus is the post-hospital medical care of these patients are called Post-Hospitalists.
Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) are registered nurses with graduate degrees in nursing. APRN roles include: certified nurse midwife, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, and nurse practitioner. APRNs assess, diagnose, manage patient medical problems, order diagnostic tests, and prescribe medications. Rules, regulations, and credentialing for APRNs vary by state. This page outlines the regulatory processes for nurse practitioners in Wisconsin, including education, certification, licensing, and credentialing. Regulatory and credentialing processes are continuously changing, and the information contained on this page is current as of November 2015.
Nursing is the largest healthcare profession in the United States, with more than 3.1 million registered nurses. Between 2012 and 2022, employment for nurses is projected to grow by 19 percent, which is more than any other profession. Nurses make up the largest component of staff in hospitals but are also able to provide care in clinic settings, patient's homes, schools, nursing homes, public health agencies, and mental health centers. In addition, nurses can be found in the military, in industry, nursing education, and do health care research. Nurses in these various roles and settings can provide direct patient care and case management, but also develop and establish nursing practice and quality standards within complex healthcare systems. As each degree can provide a different level of care for patients and function in vastly different roles, it is important to differentiate between them. The levels of nursing degrees have different educational requirements, licensure, and credentialing that can vary state to state.
An acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP) is a registered nurse who has completed an accredited graduate-level educational program that prepares them as a nurse practitioner. This program includes supervised clinical practice to acquire advanced knowledge, skills, and abilities. This education and training qualifies them to independently: (1) perform comprehensive health assessments; (2) order and interpret the full spectrum of diagnostic tests and procedures; (3) use a differential diagnosis to reach a medical diagnosis; and (4) order, provide, and evaluate the outcomes of interventions. The purpose of the ACNP is to provide advanced nursing care across the continuum of health care services to meet the specialized physiologic and psychological needs of patients with acute, critical, and/or complex chronic health conditions. This care is continuous and comprehensive and may be provided in any setting where the patient may be found. The ACNP is a licensed independent practitioner and may autonomously provide care. Whenever appropriate, the ACNP considers formal consultation and/or collaboration involving patients, caregivers, nurses, physicians, and other members of the interprofessional team.