Acute Care Nurse PractitionerMost people are not very familiar with the term acute care nurse practitioner. These practitioners are specially educated to deal with advanced levels of nursing care for patients suffering from critical, acute as well as chronic nature of ailments. The best candidates most suited to such an associate level of qualification are for RNFAs as well as perioperative nurses wishing to undertake advanced levels of practice responsibilities without having to let go of the acute, hands-on setting of a perioperative environment. Scope Of Practice Family nursing practitioners or NPs are typically educated and trained to handle newborn babies and ensure their proper care, caring for women suffering from postpartum depression and other symptoms etc. They also deal with disease prevention, health protection and promotion. Some of the other areas where an acute care nurse practitioner finds responsibilities include those of neonatal care, psychiatric, pediatric, women's health, adult care, acute care as well as gerontological etc. Differs Across States The primary and secondary responsibilities of an acute care nurse practitioner differ from one state to another. While some nurses handle proper and transparent billing of customers, others specialize in dental care as well while others might be qualified to become advanced registered nurse practitioners as well. Various legislations are passed from time to time by different states and these also change the nature and scope of practice of such nurses. Primary Responsibilities The acute care nurse practitioner primarily takes care of patients who have chronic, acute and critical illnesses. These nurses are involved with the hands-on care and attention of such patients. Typical environments where such nurses operate include the subacute and acute hospital departments like burn, intensive care units, emergency wards, dialysis, trauma, medical surgical type units, rehabilitation or specialty office etc. These nurses thus remain the mid-level preference in terms of providers of specialty practice and care. Areas of expertise include cardiology, pulmonology, neurology, oncology, nephrology etc. Sometimes, the nurse practitioner involved in acute patient care may also have the additional responsibility to make decisions on diagnosis along with a surgeon or at times the nurse might also take care of the post discharge treatment of the patient. How To Enter This Realm If you are interested to become an acute care nurse practitioner there are many ways to go about it. However, you need to complete your masters or doctoral program in nursing from an accredited university. The doctorate or master program will enable you to pursue a higher level of education in the nursing segment. After all, acute care nurse practitioners are responsible for chronic and acute illness care in patients and in such instances, a more in-depth level of knowledge is required. You need to complete your msn or master of science in nursing in order to become an acute nursing specialist. Once you complete the masters program you need to sit for the entrance exam for the acnp level. Only if you pass this test can you get a license for becoming an acute nursing specialist. |