The Ever So Popular: Nurse Practitioner

Whether you know it or not, you most likely receive a lot of your care whenever you go to a medical office from a nurse practitioner.  Starting in the 1960s, nurse practitioners began providing health care due to a shortage of pediatricians.  The reason for the shortage really is not known though.  Even today, nurse practitioners can be found in almost every medical facility.  These include nursing homes, mental health facilities, specialty clinics, intensive care units, and emergency rooms.  In most hospitals, nurse practitioners take part of a care team, where they help manage patients from signing in to checking out.

What is a Nurse Practitioner?

I am sure you probably want a rundown of what a nurse practitioner really is. A Nurse Practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice nurse who has completed graduate level education (either a Master’s or a Doctoral degree).  CRNs, CNMs, and CNSs are additional APN roles.  All advanced practice nurses are Registered Nurses with additional education and training.  To become licensed to practice, Nurse Practitioners hold national certification in an area of specialty.  These areas include family, women’s health, pediatrics, adult, acute care, etc.).  These are all licensed through state nursing boards rather than the typical medical boards.  The core philosophy of the field is individualized care.

Nurse practitioners focus on patients’ conditions as well as the effects of illness on the lives of the patients and their families. NPs make prevention, wellness, and patient education priorities. Another focus is educating patients about their health and encouraging them to make healthy choices. In addition to health care services, NPs conduct research and are often active in patient advocacy activities.

What Kind of Care do Nurse Practitioner’s Provide?

Nurse Practitioners treat both physical and mental conditions through comprehensive history taking, physical exams, physical therapy, and ordering tests and therapies for patients within their scope of practice. NPs can serve as a patient’s primary health care provider, and see patients of all ages depending on their designated scope of practice.  Obviously, all of these nurse practitioners have to go through a great deal of education, so you should definitely feel comfortable when dealing with them.  They all vary on what their job titles are, but most of them have the brains to even carry out the hardest tasks, so they are all very capable.

Nurse Practitioner Salary

The median expected salary for a typical Nurse Practitioner (NP) in the United States is approximately $87,831.