Advanced Practice in Nursing Essay Sample

Advanced Practice in Nursing

As the title itself affirms, advance practice nurse refers to an advanced nurse possessing advanced skills and education in the nursing practice. They have roles ranging from research, general healthcare, educating both the general public as well as the professionals in the medical field. As a nurse practitioner with a master’s degree in nursing, the services provided to the community and the individuals are of great importance. My specialty is in the family practice where I oversee the health and the well being of different family members in the rural areas. My services range from diagnostic, family planning, children care and the general nutrition.

Being endowed with a special duty of attending to people of varied ages, right from the infancy up to later adult life, it ensures that I am able to maintain patient profiles of varying patients and able to provide professional health advice on various diseases and discomforts. In family practice my service to individuals may vary according to specific needs of the patients. They would range from evaluation of chronic diseases like blood pressure and provision of expert advice on the lifestyle requirements of the patient, the nutritional combination requirement physical exercise and the need for advanced care depending on the health status of the person.

The importance of my services on individual’s health is in making them aware of their health status, their family behaviors, and their impact on the general health of the family. Expert advice on how to bring up children within the proper nutritional standards and the requirements for immunizations. My educational skills and experience enables to answer a wide range of questions regarding human health.

The family being the single first most important in the society, its general health status will be reflected in the community. In additional to ensuring the health of individuals at the family level, a nurse practitioner due to his wide wealth of knowledge act as a proper authority in formulation and implementation of public health policies especially of working in community based and public clinics.

My evolution to an ANP was a slow and gradual one. Whereas registered nurse qualifications’ requirements are only tow year college degree, ANP requires a person to undertake strenuous and vigorous training having both in hands on experience and academics. ANP requires a masters or a doctorate degree in the relevant health care topic. To advance from a RN to ANP requires a successive impact and effort of a couple of years. The roles too are different. Whereas RNs duties are limited to caring for patients, ANPs have a wide range of duties ranging from diagnosing and treating of chronic diseases.

Very few nurses nowadays are exercising an option of advancing to the management level. But that is where I believe my destiny is. After my career as an ANP, I wish to progress to join the NHS probably in a managerial position with an eye to becoming a board member and try to put in practice my managerial capabilities in medical environment.