What is A Nurse Practitioner?
There are more than 200,000 nurse practitioners in the U.S. alone. Nurse practitioners impact lives every day and are important professionals in the medical industry.
What is a nurse practitioner? What are their responsibilities? Are they like a doctor? And can you find one in Omaha?
Continue to read to learn more about nurse practitioners and the role they play in the medical community.
What Is a Nurse Practitioner?
A nurse practitioner has the ability to diagnose conditions and order medical tests. Nurse practitioners can also order treatments such as medication. They diagnose both short-term and chronic conditions and have the authority to prepare a care plan.
Depending on the state, nurse practitioners will work under a licensed physician or have the ability to work independently.
Nurse practitioners are the closest profession to physicians in the medical industry. While there are key similarities between the two roles, nurse practitioners often work with patients to prevent diseases.
Core to a nurse practitioner's philosophy is proactivity. Nurse practitioners help patients with their long-term health and wellbeing.
Nurse Practitioner Training
Nurse practitioners receive extensive training. As per their name, nurse practitioners are trained as nurses. They must receive a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Additionally, they must earn a Master's or Doctorate in nursing.
Once completing their education, nurse practitioners have to take a board exam just like the medical boards for a physician. To earn a nurse practitioner certification. After passing the exam, nurse practitioners will have to file for a license through their state. In addition, Nurse Practitioners must continue their education requirements to maintain their license and certification just like a physician.
As highlighted above, a nurse practitioner's authority will vary by state. Some states require that nurse practitioners practice with a licensed physician. 20 current states allow nurse practitioners to have their own practices without supervision.
Qualifications and Skills
Nurse practitioners are talented medical professionals who save lives every day. While they do not receive as extensive training in a school setting as physicians, they hold very similar responsibilities and have often worked in the field as a nurse as part of their education and training before pursuing the provider role.
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