What is a Nurse Practitioner Anyway?!
I get asked this question a lot! That and why did you become an NP? or What’s the difference between an NP and a PA (Physican Assistant)? So I thought I would do a post addressing these three questions over the next couple days.
First “What is a Nurse Practitioner?”
The “textbook” definition of a nurse practitioner is: “Nurse practitioners are registered nurses who are prepared, through advanced education and clinical training, to provide a wide range of preventive and acute healthcare services to individuals of all ages…Nurse practitioners may diagnose, treat, and prescribe for a patient’s condition that falls within their specialty areas of practice. This is done in collaboration with a licensed physician qualified in the specialty involved and in accordance with an approved written practice agreement and protocols. Nurse practitioners are autonomous and do not practice under the supervision of the collaborating physician” (Buppert, 2012, p. 1).
I usually give a definition similar to the one above (although maybe not as eloquent) and then I add in that nurse practitioners take the nursing/holisitic model of thinking–looking at the whole person. If I am giving a longer definition for someone I may also add that I am studying to be a primary care nurse practitioner specializing in pediatrics meaning I’ll be seeing children in “doctors’ offices” and I also may list some of the skills that a nurse practitioner is allowed to do under their license and scope of practice such as assess a sick patient, conduct a well physical, diagnose patients with medical diagnoses, order labs if necessary, and treat the patient accordingly including, but not limited to, writing prescriptions.
Once the definition of a nurse practitioner is understood this usually leads into the second question…”Well, why did you want to become a nurse practitioner?” (sometimes phrased as “Why didn’t you just become a doctor?”). I’ll address that one tomorrow!
~love always~
Jen
References
Buppert, C. (2012). Nurse practitioner’s business practice and legal guide (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning: Sudbury, MA.
