Advanced Practice Role Analysis

Advanced practice roles will only become increasingly utilized and in great need in the coming years as legislators have brought vast change to U.S. healthcare. The number of newly insured individuals combined with the expanding elderly population is already bringing the number of patients seen in emergency departments and outpatient facilities higher than ever before. As more individuals and families gain access to healthcare, this explosion in patient numbers in the coming years will have a great impact on the clinicians themselves. There will be increasing focus on managing care and cost-efficiency as these previously uninsured patients have gone without medical care for such a long time and will need vast amounts of high-acuity and specialized care. An advanced practice role can consist of numerous positions: clinician, manager, educator,

• Web-based collaborative seminars with partnering medical institutions.

• Education of evidence-based nonpharmalogical practices.

• Orientation programs for new staff.

• Development and distribution of department specific materials based on new policies, procedures, and processes.

• Provide consult for both employee and patient satisfaction.

• Assess and evaluate the effectiveness of educational opportunities for staff. Knowledge is power, especially in such a setting where every second makes the difference in life or death situations. Knowing what to do is the first step, but knowing how to perform the task with the most fluidity and with the best practice is the way to improve patient’s outcomes in an emergency department setting. Herbert, Bright, Jhun, & James (2014) explain that:

The tools to maintain knowledge are more robust and ‘peer-reviewed’ than ever before. Only a portion of the art and practice of emergency medicine can be acquired from memorizing facts or watching lectures. In the end, this art must be perfected at the bedside.” (p.