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Nurse Practitioners Frequently Asked Questions
Who are Nurse Practitioners?
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are registered nurses who are prepared, through advanced education and clinical training, to provide a wide range of preventive and acute health care services to individuals of all ages. Today, NPs complete graduate-level education preparation that leads to a master’s degree. NPs take health histories and provide complete physical examinations; diagnose and treat many common acute and chronic problems; interpret laboratory results and X-rays; prescribe and manage medications and other therapies; provide health teaching and supportive counseling with an emphasis on prevention of illness and health maintenance; and refer patients to other health professionals as needed. NPs are authorized to practice across the nation and have prescriptive privileges, of varying degrees, in 49 states. The most recent Health Resources and Services Administration Sample Survey report (2004) shows 141,209 Nurse Practitioners in the United States, an increase of more than 27 percent over 2000 data. The actual number of nurse practitioners in 2006 is estimated to be at least 145,000.
What is the history of the NP role?
Nurse practitioners have provided a healthy partnership with their patients for more than 40 years. The nurse practitioner role had its inception in the mid-1960s in response to a nationwide shortage of physicians. The first NP Program was developed as a master’s degree curriculum at the University of Colorado’s School of Nursing in 1965, founded by Loretta C. Ford, a nursing faculty member and Dr. Henry K. Silver, a pediatrician. Programs were developed across the country to provide additional education for experienced nurses to enable them to provide primary health care services to large underserved populations. The first programs were in pediatrics and they soon spread to many other health care specialties.
Where do NPs practice?
Nurse practitioners practice in a variety of specialty areas and settings where health care services are provided for individuals and groups. These include: employee health services, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), home health care agencies, hospitals (inpatient and outpatient services), long term care facilities, NP-managed health centers, prisons and correctional institutions, private offices, psychiatric facilities, schools and college health services.
How cost-effective are nurse practitioners?
Very. NPs provide high-quality, cost-effective care. One study compared the costs of care for two primary care problems and found that the cost of care given by NPs was 20% less than the cost of care given by physicians.
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