The object of this essay is to discuss the role of the Assistant Practitioner. How it has emerged; how it fits into the structure and skill mix of the NHS workforce and the effect it has had on that structure. It will also outline the principles of accountability and statutory regulations that govern the day to day practice of the role.
In October 1998 the new European Working Time Directive was implemented. Its purpose was to prevent employers from expecting their employees to work excessively long hours. This meant that doctors were only allowed to work an average of 48 hours a week. As a result Registered Nurses had to take on tasks that were previously only performed by doctors taking them away from the patient’s bedside. In March 2000 the government launched a new paper. The NHS Plan. Its purpose was to modernise and reform the NHS and its practices and for it to be more patient centred. This put even more pressure on Registered Nurses to take on ever increasing number the doctors roles therefore removing them yet further away from the bedside. Lord, M. NT (2002) describes the effect that Project 2000 was to have on the education of nurses. The project changed nurse training from an “In house” style of teaching to University based education. This led to the abolishment of the State Enrolled Nurse (SEN) leaving a large skill gap in the workforce. The Royal College of Nursing’s General Secretary, Dr. Peter Carter stated RCN (2007) that 180 000 Registered Nurses (RN’s) were due to retire over the next decade. Combined with ever tightening budgets putting an increased strain on the Health Service it also meant there would be a huge skill shortage. These three events have conspired to introduce and further develop the role of th...
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...urse. 5th ed. Oxford: Blackwell Science. p182-195.
Lord, M. (14/5/2002). Making a difference: The implcations for nurse education. Available: http://www.nursingtimes.net/making-a-difference-the-implications-for-nurse-education/206457.article. Last accessed 17/12/2013.
Nancarrow, S. (2005). Assistant Practitioners: issues of accountability, delegation and competence.. Available: http://works.bepress.com/susan_nancarrow/5/. Last accessed 16/12/13.
RCN (2007). New figures show NHS has lost nearly 7000 nurses in last year.. Available: http://www.rcn.org.uk/newsevents/press_releases/uk/article2407. Last accessed 12/12/2013.
Spilsbury, K Atkins K, Bartlett, C Bloor,K Boglin,G et al.. (2010). Evaluation of the Development and Impact of Assistant Practitioners Supporting The Ward-Based Registered Nurses in Acute NHS (Hospitals) Trusts in England.. Available:
Physician practices are increasingly using medical assistants in place of nurses, for a variety of reasons and with significant impact on office efficiency. Medical assistants are trained in both clinical and administrative functions, allowing one staff member to do the work of two. These assistants can help manage patient flow by working the front desk, performing some billing functions, and also providing some clinical care. As you consider adding medical assistants to your practice or optimizing the work of the assistants you already have on staff, you might be wondering: What is the clinical scope of practice of
Role clarity and title confusion pose barriers to the amalgamation of advanced practice nursing roles. Colleagues and the public are unaware of the precise roles of the APN. Much of what the public knows about medicine is associated with a doctor, and the “doctor knows best” (Safriet, 2011). The public i...
Through the utilisation of the accompanying text, I aim to discuss and reflect upon one person’s care, to which I have had previous involvement. Using the perspectives set out by Chapelhow et al (2005), I aim to gain a broader outlook on what is expected of me as a Student Nurse. Chapelhow et al (2005) has identified six skills that they feel are required of every Health Care Practitioner. These skills are defined as ‘enablers’ as they are fundamental skills that provide the means for expert professional practice (Chapelhow et al 2005). Although there are six skills outlined, I will only be using two of them to analyse the care I provided. I have chosen to use communication and risk management as my two enablers.
Ranked third by U.S. News and World Report on the list of “Best Health Care Jobs of 2017”, the Physician Assistant career has a 96 percent job-satisfaction rate, and represents one of the fastest growing jobs in the nation. Created as a position to relieve the job shortage of primary care physicians, Physician Assistants first came to be in the mid-1960s. Since then, the number of PAs in practice has just about doubled with every decade helping to improve health care not just nationally, but on a global level as well. Physician Assistants are licensed to practice medicine, prescribe medication, treat chronic illnesses, and assist in surgery in all 50 states under supervision of a physician. Although some medical practitioners perceive the role
The assistant part in physician assistant is generally understated. Physician assistants’ responsibilities actually bear many tasks that would suggest a long work hours and practices. Many may work alongside a team of specialists to coordinate treatments for their patients or some may work independently supervised by a
Main, R., Dunn, N., & Kendall, K., (2007). ‘Crossing professional boundaries’: barriers to the integration of nurse practitioners in primary care. Education for Primary Care, 18, 480 – 487. Mundinger, M., (1994).
One of the significant current discussions in healthcare since the Francis Report, concerns the regulation and training of Healthcare Assistants. Healthcare Assistants (HCAs), also known as Healthcare Support Workers, work in a wide variety of healthcare settings from GP surgeries and clinics to acute hospital wards. There are 1.3 million of them working in front-line care roles in the UK (DoH, 2013). These workers are currently unregulated and at present there is no compulsory role-specific training. HCAs are legally permitted to carry out most clinical tasks of a Registered Nurse, however, there is no definitive list stating what tasks they can or cannot undertake. This paper will attempt to demonstrate that there is an urgent need for HCA regulation and standardised training. It has been divided into four parts. The first part deals with the arguments for HCA regulation, the second with the hurdles that regulation would bring and the last part will attempt to draw some concussions and recommendations.
The purpose of this essay will be to discuss how the utilisation of an Assistant in Nursing (AIN) in provision of patient cares under the direction and supervision of the registered can have positive impact on the patient care and how can it help to achieve desired patient outcome. In this essay firstly role of (AIN) will be discussed along with the scope of practice and duties. Discussion on how (AIN) can help registered nurse to achieve desired goals in the patient outcome and care provision will be presented. Responsibilities of a registered nurse when working with AIN will be discussed and it will be explained how these duties are in accordance with the NMBA competencies which nurses are abide by. Limitations of the positive side of the
The nursing shortage is divided into four different categories. The four categories are as follows; "willing nurse" shortage, funding or perceived funding shortage, shortage of understanding that nurses are needed to deliver care, and nurse education and empowerment shortages (What is the nursing shortage and why does it exist?., 18 October, 2007). To be able to repair this major problem, all four segments of shortages need to be addressed. The first nursing shortage, A "willing nurse" shortage, is the simple fact of not enough supply to fill the demand of nursing positions. This shortage occurs either because there are simply not enough nurses to fill the open positions, or because experienced nurses are opting out of nursing and the willingness to provide care due to the current occupational environment. The second nursing shortage is the funding or perceived funding shortage. This shortage is merely due to nurses not feeling as if they are being compensat...
In order to better understand the role of an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) and how the core competencies work in their role I conducted an interview with
Not only does The Francis Report call for more compassionate care, but it also states that stronger leadership is required of all ward nurse managers. It also insists on a change with regards to the appraisal and support system for nurses. This appraisal system is a means of assessing the performance of nurses so that any shortcomings can be corrected through methods such as training and transfer. On the other hand, a positive assessment is to be rewarded by promotion.
...sa, H. Cashin, A. Buckley, T. Donoghue, J. (2014). Advancing advanced practice — clarifying the conceptual confusion. Nurse Education Today 34 (2014) pp. 356–361
Within the last ten years an increased demand of contemporary healthcare has created a shift in nursing. This shift has created a need to strengthen the quality and safety of practice, in addition to re-examining the clinical roles within nursing (Delamaine and Lafortune, 2010). In order to respond to the requirements of contemporary healthcare, advanced practice nursing (APN) roles or ‘specialist nursing roles’ have evolved over the years and are currently a global trend of the nursing profession (Kleinpell et al., 2014). As a third year student nurse, I have aspirations of achieving a specialist nurse status within my career. Over the past three years I have experienced a wide variety of clinical
Nurses serve a fundamental role in providing excellent health care (Gerard, Owens & Oliver, 2016; Gupta, Agarwal & Khatri, 2016; Moneke & Umeh, 2013; Van Bogaert, van Heusden, Timmermans, & Franck, 2014). However, due to extended work hours, unsupportive managers, and unworkable patient loads, which are all part of the portrayal today’s nurses (Milazzo, 2014) has shown to have an impact on nurse outcomes, quality care, and patient safety (Van Bogaert, Timmermans, Weeks, van Heusden, Wouters & Franck, 2014). With consideration in the retention of nurses, nursing leaders must acknowledge staff’s work satisfaction as an important aspect in preserving the nursing workforce. Hence, a reduced workforce can ultimately have a significant impact
Have you ever thought about where we put the elderly? Where do we put the old people? The question is we put them in nursing homes or hospitals, and who are the people that take care of them? Over the years the supply of nurses have decreased and we now don’t have enough nurses. This problem is called Nurse Shortage, when we have a nurse shortage more nurses work way more hours and not enough time relaxing and trying to be healthy.