What is a Nurse Practitioner?

What is a Nurse Practitioner?

A Nurse Practitioner [NP] is a registered nurse [RN] with advanced education and training. Their goal is to help people be as healthy as possible.

What is the philosophy of Nurse Practitioners?

Nurse Practitioners advocate health promotion and disease prevention. They do this by teaching people ways to stay healthy and treat them for their acute illnesses [e.g. cold] and chronic diseases [e.g. diabetes].

What can Nurse Practitioners do?

• Obtain health histories

• Perform physical assessments and examinations

• Order & interpret diagnostic/laboratory studies

• Diagnose & treat common illnesses and minor injuries

• Make referrals to specialists

• Counsel & teach health and nutrition

• Prescribe/manage medication therapy

• Provide continued/follow-up and coordinate care

Can Nurse Practitioners prescribe medications?

Yes! Nurse Practitioners have prescribing privileges in 43 states. Legislation is pending in the remaining.

What services do Nurse Practitioners do?

• Well/sick baby care

• Well/sick child care

• Well/sick adult care

• Well/sick elder care

• Family Planning

• Health education

• Psychological counseling

• Screening for diseases

• Case management

• Prenatal care

• Minor surgery

• Diet counseling

Do all Nurse Practitioners offer similar services?

While all NP's advocate health promotion and disease prevention the services offered are based upon their education. The types of NP education are:

• Adult Nurse Practitioner

• Family Nurse Practitioner

• Womens Health Nurse Practitioner

• Neonatal Nurse Practitioner

• Geriatric Nurse Practitioner

• Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

• Psych-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

• Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

How is the quality of Nurse Practitioner care?

The care that NPs provide is very good according to numerous government and private studies. In fact, the U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment says, "Nurse Practitioners provide care whose quality is equivalent to that of care provided by physicians".

Are Nurse Practitioner services reimbursable?

Though not by all, many insurers do cover NP services. As they learn about the high quality and cost-effective care NPs provide insurers are including them as reimbursable providers.

If your insurance company doesn't reimburse NPs, insist they do. This is the best way to change policy.

Federal and State government insurers recognize the quality and cost-effectiveness of NP services:

• All federal employee health insurance policies pay for NP services.

• Medicare pays for NP services when delivered in designated rural settings. Legislation is pending to increase the reimbursable areas.

• The military's insurance program for retirees and dependents known as CHAMPUS pays for NP services.

• Medicaid reimburses for Family and Pediatric NP services- some states grant coverage to all NPs.

What is the history of Nurse Practitioners?

The first NP program opened in 1965 at the University of Colorado. It was established to help improve childrens' access to health care. Today, over 200 university and college NP programs are educating RNs to provide direct patient care from newborns to the elderly. Now, over 70,000 NPs, have been trained.

Where do Nurse Practitioners work?

Nurse Practitioners work in a variety of settings located in rural and urban communities. They work in private practices, ambulatory care clinics, HMOs, hospitals, public health departments, emergency rooms, nursing homes, free standing health clinics, womans' health clinics, school-based health clinics, rural health clinics and employee-health departments.

Nurse Practitioners are a CARING  profession and may be at the HEART of health care as massive changes are taking place in this country. They may be the most cost effective primary care provider, they are certainly now a very real presence in womans' health care.