The practice of nurses as nurse practitioners (NPs) has grown over the 20th century. NPs are advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), meaning that they are highly educated health care professionals who have extensive clinical training and can provide some similar services as doctors. Growing population, the burden of chronic disease, and decreasing number of physicians are some of the factors fuelling the demand for healthcare services. Nurse practitioners (NPs) are an integral part of the health care delivery system, functioning in both primary and specialty areas. A vital element of the NP role is prescriptive authority. prescriptive authority has expanded access to care and care services by making care delivery more efficient. Nurse practitioners have advanced education, usually a master’s or doctorate, as well as ample clinical education that enables them to treat and manage acute and chronic patients. This can include prescribing medications. Through prescribing authority, NPs are able to provide care across the continuum, from evaluating a patient’s complaints, to managing medications, to formulating treatment plans.
Role and training of nurse practitioners
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are advanced practice health professionals. NPs provide care at an advanced level and have more education than an RN registered nurse. NPs have education and clinical hours as part of their graduate education, which allows them to assess patients, establish a diagnosis, order diagnostic tests, and develop plans for treatment. Also, NPs are not just educated in clinical skills but are recognized for their holistic approach to the care of patients to prevent illness and to educate the patient rather than just to treat. NPs undergo a similar rigorous educational preparation and certification to provide the skills necessary to prescribe medications safely. Most nurse practitioners graduate from graduate school with an MSN or DNP degree, where they were taught pharmacology, pathophysiology, and advanced clinical practice in nursing. In addition, they must pass a national certification examination to become licensed as a nurse practitioner.
Regulatory oversight and continuing education
Most states allow nurse practitioners to prescribe drugs, but there’s a catch. State nursing boards decide what they can prescribe.
Nurse practitioners need to continue to stay educated on what is and isn’t in their prescriptive authority.
They must continue their professional development — taking classes that may cover anything from how drugs work, to dealing with meds, to new methods for treatment. This allows them to keep track of how drugs interact, any bad side effects, and the newest treatments.
Collaboration with other healthcare professionals
Nurse practitioners in full-practice states also practice the traditional nursing model where they work independently or in conjunction with a physician, pharmacist and/or other provider in the best interest of individuals. Letting people collaborate together so they can have better care plans, and to share knowledge and research among doctors. This co-ordinated approach is yet more pertinent in the care of complex cases, such as those who have chronic health needs requiring multi-professional input.
In a limited or restricted practice state, collaboration isn’t only suggested – it is mandatory. In such arrangements, nurse practitioners and physicians work jointly under written agreement, wherein the NP’s prescribing authority and responsibilities are stated.
Impact on healthcare access and quality
The expanded role of nurse practitioner prescribing: an asset to health care access and delivery. Since full-practice states have granted nurse practitioners the right to treat patients without doctor supervision, health outcomes for patients have improved, and patient wait times and the availability of primary care have decreased. Nurse practitioners will be the sole–and thus primary–providers in these rural and medically underserved areas suffering from a physician shortage. In addition, the fact that nurse practitioners may write prescriptions independently and take the wait-and-see game of waiting for the physician to order is reduced, which means less treatment time and higher patient satisfaction. Nurse practitioners frequently use their expertise to work to the advantage of their patients by promoting a more holistic approach (e.g. diagnosis, treatment limitations) whilst making sure that patients feel recognized and listened to.
Conclusion
Nurse practitioners play a major role in patient care in today’s health care delivery systems as service providers at the nexus of nursing and medicine. Nurse practitioners can prescribe medications based on the particularities of the state in which they practice. While in practice, nurse practitioners have prescriptive authority as well as the ability to diagnose and treat without the supervision of a physician, and some states ( known as full-practice authority) allow full scope of nurse practitioner practice. Even in a state that cuts or restricts practice, nurse practitioners can still contribute patient care experience to the community.