Since obtaining a degree in the nursing profession and practicing for several years I have grown with the profession and has gained valuable skills and knowledge. One essential tool implemented to guide my career path was a career plan. Career plans can be revised at any time. These plans serve to support professional ideas that direct individual skills and interest toward the career path that best suit their capabilities. Overtime the transition from a novice nurse to a now proficient nurse within my practice can be attributed to the understanding of acquired knowledge and gained experience within several nursing specialties throughout my career. This transition has increased my awareness and ability to develop coping mechanisms and strategies that have enhanced my growth and continuance. Professional growth can be improved by research as well as well as collaboration with individuals or …show more content…
Over the years nursing roles have expanded and has significantly overlapped with medicine. This has led to the rise of Advanced Practice Nursing (APN). An Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) is a registered nurse that has acquired enhanced knowledge and skills through the successful completion of an organized program of nursing education at a Master’s degree level, and has been certified by the Board of Nursing to engage in the practice of advanced practice nursing. The APN essentially has expanded upon their skill set and the ability to provide accurate assessments, diagnose patients and plan and implement care. Advanced practice nurses exercise a higher level of autonomy to include: decision making, managing individual and group care, collaborations with clients, manage physical and labor resources, act ethically within the boundaries of the law, and prescriptive and referral authority. They also have the authority to admit patients to health care
My interest in nursing is fairly new; I had not explored the potential that a nursing career can offer. I became familiar with nursing professionally after becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant. While working with patients, side-by-side with nurses I became enamored with the potential of a nursing career. I now have a rewarding career working as a Medical-Surgical nurse on a Medical University Hospital floor that specializes in Transplant, Nephrology and Urology. Nursing encompasses the ideologies that fuel my passion, upon further research, and conversation with coworkers I realize my career goal of Family Nurse Practitioner; affording me the privilege to care for others by reaching out to various
In 2011, Barbara Safriet published an article “Federal options for maximizing the value of Advanced Practice Nurses in providing quality, cost-effective health care” from a legal perspective. The article focused on the benefits of utilizing Advance Practice Nurses to the full extent of their abilities as well as the current barriers that APNs encounter in their practice. The aim of this paper is to discuss two regulatory provisions to full deployment of APNs in current health care system, as well as three principle causes of current barriers to removal of the restrictive provisions for the APN. Furthermore, I will discuss the critical knowledge presented in the article and how it relates the APN practice. This article was incorporated into a two-year initiative was launched Institute of Medicine (IOM) and by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in 2008 which addressed the urgency to assess and transform the nursing profession.
Access to quality healthcare is a growing concern in the United States especially in light of healthcare reform coverage expansions made possible by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. It is estimated that 94% of all Americans will acquire healthcare coverage under the law, an increase of nearly 30 million people (King, 2011). This dramatic influx of patients into the healthcare system has projected to cause an immediate increase in added pressure on an already challenged healthcare workforce (King, 2011). Notably, at a time when healthcare demands are growing, graduate rates from medical schools remain unchanged while advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) graduate rates are rising (Cipher, Hooker, Guerra, 2006). The increased availability of APRNs, along with enhanced delivery of healthcare skills, gives the role a unique advantage in the current state of healthcare. These specialized advanced practice nurses provide services often at a patient’s first (and in some cases, primary) point of contact into the healthcare system (Brassard, 2013). Due to this, many states have started to take action to mitigate the increased healthcare system burden by enhancing the APRN’s scope of practice by broadening prescriptive authority. This has been shown to be one of the fundamental ethical avenues of increasing not only access to healthcare, but also efficiency and quality of care (Ross, 2012).
The nurse practitioner (NP) is a registered nurse with graduate education and advanced clinical training. The NP has acquired knowledge and clinical skills to diagnose and treat illness, and provide individualized, evidence-based care to a particular population (Chism, 2013). Throughout the past decades, the responsibilities of the NP have expanded and evolved due to the advances in healthcare. NPs are responsible for understanding the complex life process of patients and must integrate evidence-based research into clinical practice (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2006). NPs focus on meeting the current and the future health needs of the patient population. With the increase in the complexity of the healthcare system, the doctorate has become the preferred preparation for advanced nursing practice in order to improve the quality of care (AACN, 2006). The doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) is a terminal degree in nursing. It is designed to prepare individuals for specialized nursing practice (AACN, 2006). A significant foundation for the practice of a DNP is the “Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice” (AACN, 2006).
Advanced practice registered nurses play a significant part in extending access to health care by providing primary care and specialty care services to clients. Advanced practices registered are mentors, educators, researchers, and administrators. According to Health Resources and Services Administration, “Ninety-six percent of the NP workforce reported being in clinical practice, providing direct patient care” (Health Resources and Services Administration 2016). Furthermore, “Nearly three percentages were in faculty positions and approximately one percent was in administrative positions”(Health Resources and Services Administration 2016).
Mundinger, M., (1994). Advanced-Practice nursing—good medicine for physicians? New England Journal of Medicine, 33(3), 211-214. Retrieved from http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199401203300314
I have had the opportunity to care for wonderful individuals, each of whom have contributed the fabric of my personal nursing career. Nursing is a profession of both joy and sadness combined. My career has provided me the opportunity to care for those I need. In retrospect I can say that my personal nursing tapestry is comprised of patients who were grateful to a care team, after being revived from suffering a sudden cardiac event, the smile of a trusting child, a hand to be held while working with hospice patients and their families. My current role is a case manager. I seldom have direct contact with patients who have chronic illnesses, yet I am gifted with their trust. I have been given an opportunity to support, care, respect, educate, collaborate and research practice improvement initiatives. I continue to formulate my own nursing philosophy daily. While I experience daily encounters that allow my tapestry to become more colorful and detailed, I allow myself to set new goals. My final nursing goal, is to become a nurse practitioner. I can see myself in the next year working in an academic capacity in becoming a leader in rural health improvement and proficient at educating patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions, speaking at national events, advocating for patients and playing an active role in health policy. In five years I can see myself being ready to embark on another
My commitment to pursue a career in nursing stems from my desire for making a positive difference in another person’s life as it was made for my entire family life growing up in Western Africa. My nursing career commitment to aid in serving the underserved across the nation started from my teenage years in my original hometown Africa. I was born in the Western part of Africa and I knew and lived first-hand how impoverished health disparity is among the underserved areas in my community. While growing up in Africa and being the oldest of six siblings with a father and a mother who are uneducated; life was seriously hard not knowing where the next meal will come from. At age ten years, my father was seriously ill and was taken to the hospital
To begin my personal statement, I grew up in the West African nation of The Gambia. I am the youngest of thirteen children and I was adopted by my uncle and his wife at age 2. My adoption was very different than the American way where all sorts of contractual documents had to be signed. Although the end results are the same, mine was done without signing any documents because my parents were just giving me up to my uncle and his wife to raise me. At age 5, my uncle enrolled me at Primary School without the consent of my biological parents for fearing that they would object because most parents in the Gambia do not think girls have the same rights to education as boys. I grew up without a television, running water or electricity. I did not know that I lacked
During my undergraduate years in college I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to become when I “grew up”. I would study various professions and never felt like anything fit for me. One evening I sat down with my aunt, a nurse, and I was talking to her about how I couldn’t decide on a major and how frustrating it was to be in college feeling as if I did not have any direction. She looked at me with complete surprise on her face and said, “You aren’t applying for nursing school?” I stared at her for a moment because I was confused as to why she would ask me that. She chuckled and proceeded to tell me that she had always assumed that I would be a nurse because I spent several years of my life taking care of my 3 year old cousin who had cancer. For three years I was his caregiver and it had never occurred to me that I could make a living caring for people. I then spent countless hours researching nursing and what exactly nurses did. This was it! I had finally found what I wanted to do for the rest of my life! It took no time at all to know that I wanted to specialize in pediatrics. Throughout my clinical experiences in nursing school I have immensely enjoyed working on the Pediatric units as well as the Nursery. I am now absolutely certain that I am meant to be a pediatric nurse. Cook Children’s is recognized as a Magnet-designated hospital and is one of the best children’s hospitals in the US. Being a Cook Children’s nurse resident would allow me to fulfill my passion and dream of pediatric nursing. I am interested in a nurse residency at Cook Children’s because of its excellent reputation in patient satisfaction, standard of care, and community involvement. A residency at Cook Children’s would allow me to gain more experience and know...
I chose nursing as a career because I found the work challenging, exciting and rewarding. I feel my skills and attributes are well suited for nursing. My ability to sta...
According to Hamric, Spross and Hanson (2005), “advanced practice nursing is the application of the expanded range of practical, theoretical and research based- competencies” to provide patient care in different settings (Pulcini, 2013). Advanced practice registered nurse APRN is a nurse that completed a graduate level program that can practice as a certified nurse practitioner, (NP) certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), clinical nurse midwife (CNM) or clinical nurse specialist (CNS) (Scope and standard, 2010). To be licensed to practice as APRN, they need to pass a national certification exam and maintained their license via recertification through continuous competencies.
The first key message that is discussed is that nurses should practice to the fullest extent of their education and training. Most of the nurses that are in practice are registered nurses. Advanced nurse practitioners are nurses that hold a master’s or doctoral degree and include nurse midwifes, clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, and nurse anesthetists and consist of about two hundred and fifty thousand of the nurses currently working today. Advanced practice nurses are limited to what
Nurses need a seat at the table to ensure they have a voice to influence and shape their future. Nursing is constantly evolving and changing, and employers continue to raise the bar for nursing. Nurses understand early in their career the importance of continuing education to enhance future career opportunities. Professional development relates to how nurses continue to broaden their knowledge, skills, and expertise throughout their career, therefore enhancing their professional practice. This advanced knowledge is not only career boosting, but also opens a seat at the table giving nurses the power to make decisions and effect changes. Professional development and continuing education are more important to nurses now than ever before to keep up with the rapid changes in healthcare today. Numminen, Leino-Kilpi, Isoaho and Meretoja’s (2017) article contends professional development enhances personal satisfaction, rejuvenates the love of nursing, builds confidence and credibility. There are many avenues to pursue
Barker, A. M. (Ed.). (2009). Advanced practice nursing Essential knowledge for the profession. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.