Nurse Practitioner Career Analysis And Review

According to the Nurse Journal, a nurse practitioner (NP) is an “advanced practice registered nurse who helps to mitigate the effects of the national physician shortage by serving as primary care workers. ” (2018) Nurse practitioners are a non-normative subsection of nurses that have more than the typical responsibilities to their patients. Nurse practitioners go above and beyond the everyday tasks that a normative nurse would preform. NP’s have the “responsibility to prescribe medicine, examine patients, diagnose illnesses, and provide treatment, much like physicians do. ” (Nurse, 2018) They have to preform more duties than a nurse but not as many duties as a doctor, although similar to a doctor. They have additional education and nursing experience “which enables them to, autonomously diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret testing, prescribe medications and preform medical procedures. ” (Canadian nurses associations, 2018) Nurse practitioners have the ability to be flexible in the places they work, what fields they want to work in and their shifts in which they work per day/week.

According to Maryville University, the seven most common places that an individual will find nurse practitioners working will be, the hospital, private doctors offices, community clinics (such as walk in centers), nursing homes, health departments, schools, college clinics and home health care agencies. Overall, nurse practitioners work in a variety of different settings, but more times than not, NP’s have a specific specialty. Some of the specialties could be cardiology, emergency medicine, family practice, geriatrics, neonatology, oncology, pediatrics, primary care, school health and women’s health. Nurse practitioners in hospitals may work in the “emergency room, maternity ward, or critical care. ” (Maryville, 2018)

Meanwhile in private doctors offices, Nurse practitioners have the ability to own there own practices, with the most common specialties at their practices being in family care or pediatrics. They have the ability to provide care and guidance to clients while also offering educational classes to the public at their practice. Similarly to their own private offices, NP’s have the ability to work at community health departments without being under the supervision of a doctor. Patients can come see the nurse practitioner at the community health department and receive one-on-one care. Nurse practitioners have an ability at their own private practices and community health departments to have a great impact on their overall community. Nurse practitioners can also work at nursing homes and home health care agencies. Each of these two settings allows the nurse practitioners to care for the elder generational individuals, while offering one-on-one patient care for their specified diagnoses. This then allows the individuals to feel heard and proceed to discuss medical symptoms that at times they wouldn’t feel comfortable enough to bring up, when more than one medical staff is in the room at a time. Lastly, a nurse practitioner has the ability to work in a school or collegiate setting. Since NP’s have a wider range of knowledge than an ordinary Registered Nurse (RN), they have the ability in the school setting to educate the students in the classroom and in nurse’s office on different medical related topics. Some of the topics include, sex, healthy eating, injuries and much more. Now, with all these different opportunities in which a nurse practitioner can work, each setting has a different time span that they will work. Nurse practitioners have the flexibility to work full time, part time or PRN, which is as needed. Although most settings are full time positions such as private practices or hospital environments, other settings like school and collegiate clinics or community clinics are part time. Each of these settings has one commonality, that is, that each of these places has a very moderate pace. It is very rare for a nurse practitioner to be working behind a desk and sitting. It is more common than not, depending on their hours that they work a day, to see them moving and on their feet, going from patient to patient throughout their day. Aside from there meeting times and lunch break they are on there feet for a very heavy portion of their day.

Throughout their day nurse practitioners can come across a slue of different health related issues. In a typical day for an NP, they can be seen, writing prescriptions, diagnosing patients, preforming primary care, keeping medical records, and managing medical staff and the health care facility. (Online Nurse Practitioner Programs, 2018) Nurse practitioner’s must have a nice balance of academics and caring characteristics. According to Duquesne University “Jean Watson, a well-known nurse theorist and nursing professor with a Ph. D. in Educational Psychology and Counseling, says several factors are central to caring, including the preservation of a patient’s dignity and a personal connection with each patient. ” (Duquesne, 2018) Some of the characteristics that one in this profession needs to have are compassion, positivity, prioritizing, and communication. Each of these characteristics give the NP a well rounded personality and make it exceptionally easy to care for their patients. This in turn makes them extremely successful in their career and allows them to stand out more amongst their peers. There ability to use these qualities makes them overall successful in their abilities to care for their patients and practice in the medical field. To become a nurse practitioner one must complete the following steps prior to fully obtaining this position. Some of the steps that are included in these processes are, receiving a bachelor’s degree in nursing or another 4-year bachelors degree program after high school. Than apply to an accelerated nursing program for those that did not go through the nursing undergraduate programs. For those that went through the nursing undergraduate program, once they pass their NCLEX exam at the end of their four years, have to than practice as a full time registered nurse for two years. After those that apply for the accelerated program finish their degree in 12-18 months as well as pass their NCLEX exam, they as well have to work as a full time registered nurse for two years. After those that completed their two years of being a registered nurse, one must complete a master’s degree in nursing or obtain a PhD in a related field. Once all of the above requirements are completed one must then complete and obtain a state license and certification for their practicing state.

According to the Nurse Journal, after each requirement is completed the whole process could take up to five or more years depending on if the individual took any gap years between requirements. (Nurse Journal, 2018) In order to be accepted into an accelerated nursing program after finishing an undergraduate degree, one must have all the prerequisites in order to successfully apply. These prerequisites include, general chemistry one and two, nutrition and health, anatomy and physiology one and two with lab, English one, developmental psychology, micro biology with lab and statistics, all with a grade of high than a C. The applicant must also have a GPA of higher than a 3. 0, two letters of recommendation, and their college undergraduate transcripts must be sent to the place of application.

Although some schools may not require it others may also have the applicant submit an updated copy of their resume. If all prerequisites are not met by the specified deadline to apply the applicant may not be considered for the upcoming class of accelerated nurses. If the applicant were to continue on and apply to be a nurse practitioner after the two years of being a registered nurse one would have to follow the prerequisites for that specific schooling. Such requirements would be a minimum score on the graduate record examination better known as the GRE, a minimum GPA of a 3. 0, certain level of clinical experience in various areas, must be an active registered nurse as well as have an updated nursing license, and lastly have a bachelors degree from a nursing program or another four year undergraduate program and an accelerated degree. Although one may think that a 12-18 month program wouldn’t be that expensive after paying for a four year undergraduate program, accelerated nursing program can run one $17,000- $90,000 after books, tuition, and supplies; but when housing transportation and personal expenses are added in, it can run about $40,00 to $120,000 a year. (Cost Helper, 2018) While those that decide to continue on to school to acquire a master’s degree or PhD in nursing, the additional tuition could approximately cost $50,000 to $75,000 a year. (Cost Helper, 2018) After all the requirements are fulfilled to become a nurse practitioner, the benefits of being categorized as a NP come in quite handy. As an NP, one has access to be in various associations such as; American association of nurse practitioners, doctors of nursing practice, American academy of emergency nurse practitioners, and various others. These organizations each have their own established website that dictates what each association is about and the pros of being apart of each. For example, on the American academy of emergency nurse practitioners website it shows what they stand for, what type of education an individual needs in order to become an emergency nurse practitioner or an ENP, what types of memberships they have to offer, a link for emergency nurse practitioner certification application, upcoming events that they might have, any published articles that they have and lastly memorabilia that they have in there store to promote there association.

During the process of becoming a nurse practitioner it is always good for the individual to stay up on their certifications. Certifications such as CPR, AED, and First Aid as well as ones certified health education specialists. Each of these certifications requires different things, but all are great to have for their resume and for their future practice. In order to become CPR, AED and First Aid certified one must pass a class given through the American Red Cross that goes over the CPR, AED and First Aid procedures for infants, toddlers, teens, adults and elderly. Once the class is completed and the individual passes the exam, they are then certified to preform CPR, AED and First Aid for the next two years. (American Red Cross, 2018) As well as being CPR, AED and First Aid certified it also is extremely helpful to be a certified health education specialist (CHES). In order to pass the CHES exam one must “ meet the required academic preparation qualification, successfully pass a competency based examination administered by the national commission for health education credentialing, and satisfy the continuing education requirement to maintain the national credential. ” (CHES, 2015) Once the exam is passed, one has the ability to be able to educate individuals on health-based topics. Each certification gives the nurse practitioner or upcoming nurse practitioner an upper hand when applying for jobs as well as in their medical applications during everyday tasks As the shortage for doctors and physicians progresses the demand for nurse practitioners will always increase.

Nurse Practitioners and nurses in general are always in high demand. The availability for a job in today’s world will be extremely great. When looking for a Nurse practitioner job in a given location and specialty, it is common to come across multiple job opportunities. When searching for Nurse practitioner jobs in Toms River, NJ 08753, Career One Stop had found that within a fifty-mile radius there were over 13,325 available jobs. (Career One Stop, 2018) This is a perfect example of how high of a demand nurse practitioners are in New Jersey. With that being said, there are ample opportunities for jobs after one completes the prerequisites and is a licensed NP. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, nurse practitioners make a mean annual wage of $107,480. The BLS calculates the annual wages for nurse practitioners by,” multiplying the hourly mean wage by “year-round, full time” hours figure of 2,800 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data. ” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018) A nurse practitioner has a pretty amazing job, but, if one wanted to take it a step further, they could get their doctorate degree in nursing. Although that would require more school and more money, the benefits of having a doctoral degree are pretty significant.

As is now, a NP has the opportunity to work in several different environments, work autonomously or co partnering with a doctor, they have the ability to make there own hours and work when they want, and lastly they have the opportunity to make a great salary. But if one decided to acquire a doctoral degree the person would be benefitting from everything that the NP has now plus more. Over the years, I have found myself more and more infatuated with the idea of becoming a nurse, more specifically a nurse practitioner (NP). The medical field has always been a huge part of my life. From sickness to saving lives nurses have a magical healing power that many find incredible; this “healing power” is nothing more than a love and passion for their job. As I ponder upon the idea of eventually having my own healing power, I am elated with joy in the ability to be able to give back and help those that I come into contact with throughout the duration of my years being a nurse practitioner. I choose this specific career because it allows me to be able to give back to the medical staff that helped my family and I for so many years while also helping new patients along the way. I find such joy in helping others and being at the plastic Surgeons office that I intern at now has shown me how strong my passion for the medical profession really is This specific career not only allows you to help patients but it also allows you to be able to expand the research field and medical knowledge through patient care and applied application of medial procedures. A nurse practitioner has the ability to not only heal but to help and give back.

All of which are extremely important to me moving forward in the medical field. It is crucial to give back not only your time but also your knowledge and ability to expand the medical field in the future while being a NP. Although helping people has always been apart of me I find most joy in being able to say that I have made a positive impact on others lives during there medical experience. For some, the hospital or “white coat syndrome” is so harmful that it makes those that come into contact with a medical facility or medical staff extremely nerve racking and scary. While being an NP, it is imperative to make the patient feel the most comfortable and secure while they are receiving treatment, which in turn leads the patient to having a more positive experience and less anxiety when coming into contact with those wearing a “white coat”. Being a nurse practitioner versus a doctor or physician’s assistant allows me to be able to get to know the patient more and follow them throughout there medical treatment. Where as a doctor or physicians assistant is more of a temporary figure in the patients lives the nurse practitioner is more permanent figure following up and checking on the client throughout there recovery. I have always planned to be in the medical field, but it has been more recently that I have found that my love for wanting to be a nurse practitioner has shown. Over the course of time I have thought about where I would like to see myself in the next five to ten years. With my next step being a graduate accelerated nursing program, I would like to end up at a hospital in the emergency room, in surgery as a scrub nurse or something fast paced and on your toes. I know I don’t want to be in a clinic or a research center because I like to be hands on and fast paced. Therefore, fast forward four years after my graduate program, I’d like to see myself established in a hospital, preferably the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. At CHOP I see myself leaving such a positive impact on the children I work with that one day they want to become a nurse or a doctor and give back just like I’m doing. I aspire to work at CHOP with the elite doctors and nurses in todays medical field while expanding my knowledge and adding to new medical explorations.

Personally in five years I see myself as being a single independent woman who is thriving in the medical field and has a house and car of her own. I want to be someone who doesn’t have to rely on a man in her life because she’s successful in her field. I also see myself traveling a lot to other parts of the world that many would dream of visiting, because if I don’t travel while I’m young I know ill never travel. Overall in the next five years I see myself being widely successful in my career. Being a nurse practitioner requires more schooling than just an accelerated nursing program, which therefore means I will have to be a garnered nurse for 1-2 years, then go back to school to acquire a doctorate of nurse practitioner, and finally be certified by a specialty nursing board. Although there is more school than I’d like, I feel like with the career path I want to take the extra schooling and certifications are going to be so worth it in the end. Being compassionate and understanding towards others has allowed me to be able to connect with those that need they’re suffering relieved. I believe that by being compassionate, empathetic and understanding to those patients that need it most allows you to be able to gain a sense of trust and better understanding for what they are going through.

For example, I work at a plastic surgeons office, and I see a lot of patients that have to have double mastectomies as a result as having breast cancer. You’re level of compassion that you need to have for these patients is tremendous; as they are going through a series of events that are unimaginable for oneself. Being compassionate and empathetic allows you to see the level of agony and pain they are suffering from and be able to relate and console them on some level. I developed the attribute of compassion during the time in which my grandmother had breast cancer. I didn’t want her suffering alone, therefore I used compassion in order to help her though her recovery. It was in this instance that I realized how deep compassion can touch a person during a time of need, in turn leading me to believe that it would be crucial to be compassionate towards your patients in the medical field. Not only am I compassionate and understanding but also, I’m extremely dedicated. Dedication to not only school but also work and the pursuit of my career have always been important to me. I work extremely hard, nothing has ever come easy to me, and therefore throughout my life, dedication has been a key component of being successful. I have found that if stay dedicated and work really hard, things will start to show for the hard work and dedication. Dedication to work, especially in the medical field will allow me to make sure all tasks will be done to the fullest of my capabilities and I will always put in one hundred percent. Being dedicated to something you love makes living and working a whole lot easier. This in turn will help me to be a great nurse practitioner.

Lastly, my greatest strength is my ability to adapt to a situation. Adaptability and thinking on your toes is a great quality to have especially in the medical field. I believe that I have acquired adaptability by being open-minded and quickly to overcome situations throughout my life. I have always been go with the flow and very easy going; therefore having this mentality makes adaptability come naturally to me. This strength is used commonly at the plastic surgeons office that I work at; I have to be able to adapt to different jobs that they give me while adapting to new environments. From the operating room, to the front desk, to the patient care rooms each environment is different leaving me to have to be extremely adaptable to succeed in each environment. Being a nurse, its extremely imperative that one can be adaptable to change and think on her feet. A well-rounded nurse can work in different fields and be adaptable to different patients and environments; which in turn is why I believe this will make me a great nurse practitioner.

Although my strengths outweigh my weaknesses, my biggest weakness is that I have a hard time saying no to others. This can be seen as a good thing to many but to me I find that this is my biggest weakness; I take on more than I can handle at times and sometimes it gets me into situations that are hard to get out of. In the medical field it is crucial to be able to tell someone no, not because you don’t want to help them, but because there’s nothing left for you to do. Although it is hard to say no, especially in the medical field when you have a sick patient that needs medical attention and they don’t have the proper medical insurance or cant pay there medical bills, there’s a point in which although you want to continue to say yes, you have to look out for yourself and the practice and say no more.

Although your gut and your heart is saying you can do more you cant just say no and leave them, there’s a point in which you reach that putting your job on the line for the patient, sometimes isn’t worth it. This is where having a hard time saying no is going to be made harder for me, I was born to help people and to fix and save lives, not push people away because of money or insurance reasons. Therefore, learning a way to say no is something that I am going to have to work on in order to stay successful and employed. I can start by saying no to situations with friends and family that although may result me feeling bad afterward give me a chance to practice and cope with the guilty feeling of saying no afterward. This weakness could sometimes lead me to not get hired or accepted into a school or place of work as a result of the employer or administration not feeling confident in my abilities to be able to follow the rules and regulations that come with taking care of a patient or participating in school. Overall, I believe that this is still the career path for me. This overall paper has made me realize how passionate I am about this field and how ready and willing I am to pursue my dreams of becoming a Nurse practitioner. I am more than excited to say that I am on my way to becoming a nurse practitioner and am ecstatic to be the next one in the field helping the future patients I come into contact with.