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Why Nurse Practitioners are Vital to Health Care
Nurse practitioners are quickly becoming a major part of the healthcare landscape. They are nurses who have added to their registered nursing degree by taking additional education to advance their knowledge and skills. As a result, they are able to practice independently in most states, performing health assessments, diagnosing, and prescribing treatment to patients. Here are a few ways that nurse practitioners are vital to the healthcare field.
They Have a Preventative Care Focus
In large clinics, patients may have a choice to see a physician or a nurse practitioner as a provider for primary care. When making a choice of provider, people that want to take more time to discuss preventative care may want to choose the nurse practitioner who will discuss ways to make lifestyle changes for better health. The University of Cincinnati noted in a recent study that nurse practitioners can give the same care as physicians.
They Serve in Underserved Areas
A healthcare visit at home is not unheard of when nurse practitioners are in the equation. Nurse practitioners provide care to patients who have medical or mobility conditions that make it hard for them to leave home and travel to an appointment. In low population areas with little to no physician coverage, nurse practitioners fill a need for sick and injured residents. They fill in for a lack of primary care providers.
They Can Specialize
Nurse practitioners are well represented in primary care clinics and their numbers are continuing to rise in medical speciality offices. The nurses are well represented in paediatrics, acute care, dermatology, and gerontology practices.
They Utilize Collaboration
Nurse practitioners are more likely to collaborate with other healthcare professionals when they are faced with an unfamiliar patient condition. In any case, nurse practitioners are quick to make a referral to a specialist if a patient requires a high level of specialized care or if the differential diagnosis is complex. Patients often have a high level of satisfaction with their nurse practitioners.
They Are Covered by Insurance
In the healthcare situation today, it is extremely important that any provider you chose will be covered by your insurance. Most insurers credential nurse practitioners as primary providers, and other managed care systems require you to choose a physician who likely has associated nurse practitioners in the same clinic.
So, what is the future for online nursing school graduates? The future stands to be an excellent one. Online nursing school graduates have a variety of options for employment in a wide range of clinical settings. A future opportunity may include returning to school in the future to become a nurse practitioner.
After deciding to see a nurse practitioner for your care, make sure your choice is certified nationally. In addition, you will want to check with others in your circle of friends and family to see if they have anyone that they would recommend. To ensure that preventative care takes place, make sure that the hours that the nurse practitioner works are convenient with when you are available to go to the doctor.
Thank you for reading
Take good care of yourself!