Fundamental Concepts of Nursing Project
The Role of the Nurse
By Kimberly Williams, MSN, APRN FNP-c
Selected Nursing Role: Emergency Room Nurse Practitioner
Key concepts of this role: Nurses who wish to progress to advanced-practice nursing, who value leadership and autonomy, and who enjoy a challenging and sometimes chaotic work environment are poised to make excellent emergency nurse practitioners. Being able to work well under pressure, make rapid decisions, and work with all members of the health care team are other important attributes.
Advanced practice registered nurses typically do the following:
- Take and record patients’ medical histories and symptoms
- Perform physical exams and observe patients
- Create patient care plans or contribute to existing plans
- Perform and order diagnostic tests
- Operate and monitor medical equipment
- Diagnose various health problems
- Analyze test results or changes in a patient’s condition and alter treatment plans, as needed
- Give patients medicines and treatments
- Evaluate a patient’s response to medicines and treatments
- Consult with doctors and other healthcare professionals, as needed
- Counsel and teach patients and their families how to stay healthy or manage their illnesses or injuries
- Conduct research
Duties of this role: serve as primary and specialty care providers, delivering advanced nursing services to patients and their families. They assess patients, determine how to improve or manage a patient’s health, and discuss ways to integrate health promotion strategies into a patient’s life. Nurse practitioners typically care for a certain population of people. For instance, NPs may work in adult and geriatric health, pediatric health, or psychiatric and mental health.
Although the scope of their duties varies by state, many nurse practitioners work independently, prescribe medications, and order laboratory tests. Nurse practitioners consult with physicians and other health professionals when needed.
How to become a part of this Role: A nurse practitioner is an advanced-practice registered nurse. After completing an accredited nursing program, nurses may either hold an associate’s degree in nursing (ADN) or bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN). Graduates must also pass the NCLEX-RN for licensure as an RN.
To advance to the nurse practitioner role, RNs must complete an accredited master’s degree (MSN) or doctoral degree (DNP) program. The minimum requirement for entry into an advanced-practice nursing program is a BSN, so ADN-educated nurses must explore an RN to BSN program to earn their BSN.
Many graduate programs require nurses to work a few years before enrollment in an advanced-degree program. The rationale is for the RN to build clinical and problem-solving skills before enrollment. However, some programs allow RNs to work concurrently to achieve the same goal. Obtaining clinical experience in acute or critical care is crucial for the emergency nurse practitioner as it prepares them to address a myriad of emergent situations.
Nurses enrolled in MSN/DNP programs can opt for an emergency nurse practitioner “track” as part of the advanced-degree program, and certification is offered at the time of graduation. Otherwise, certification can be obtained through different educational institutions, such as the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board, which offers ENP certification by examination.
Additional certifications needed may include:
- Basic Life Support (BLS)
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
- Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
- Neonatal Advanced Life Support (NALS)
The certified nurse practitioner can, after meeting the specified requirements, apply to the state board for licensure.
Importance of role to the Profession: Emergency nurse practitioners can diagnose and treat patients who present with emergent/acute symptoms, as well as perform procedures. Being nurses, they gather information about a patient not only to include physical symptoms, but psychosocial and environmental information as well. They are also skilled in education and therefore can spend time teaching in a patient and family-centered manner.
Emergency care NPs are also critical in improving access to care.
Emergency nurse practitioners are already beginning to fill the gaps, as non-primary care specialties are expected to experience a deficit
Bibliography
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners,
at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/nurse-anesthetists-nurse-midwives-and-nurse-practitioners.htm (visited March 28, 2022).
Writers, R. S. (2022, March 28). Emergency Nurse Practitioner. Retrieved from Registered Nursing: https://www.registerednursing.org/nurse-practitioner/emergency/
