The growing shortage of physicians may have caused many of the registered nurses around to seek employment as physician extenders. Nurse practitioners are sometimes called physician extenders because they fulfill the role of a physician in a medical environment wherein there are few or no physicians. On the other hand, a lot of people in the medical field and beyond are hesitant to give nurse practitioners the same responsibilities because of the relatively shorter educational training level required to become a nurse practitioner.
Doctors need to spend at least ten years in training, and after such time, they will still need to devote their lives to the study of medicine. The same is not true for nurse practitioners. After entering the medical field as registered nurses, they can take up their master’s degree and then work as physician extenders while preparing for their doctorate in nursing. However, many nurse practitioners feel that the completion of the requirements on their part is enough to qualify them as professionals that are on a level similar to medical doctors.
Whether nurse practitioners are on the level of medical doctors or not is still up for debate, but it cannot be denied that nurse practitioners are taking on a profession that is both lucrative and rewarding.
Authority and Independence of Nurse Practitioners:
The laws governing the practice of nurse practitioners vary from state to state. In a sense, a new nurse practitioner should check with the state to understand her limits. For instance, some states allow autonomy in practice, which means a nurse practitioner can set up shop somewhere and take in patients. Usually, a midwifery clinic is set up when there is an expert midwife to collaborate with. In the hospitals, nurse practitioners are often seen with their team of nurses which they lead. The clinical authority of nurses is higher than that of a regular RN in most states. Some states are more restrictive. They only allow nurse practitioners to work under the supervision of a physician who can give the NP the go-ahead in terms of drug prescriptions and treatment processes.
Most nurse practitioners hold a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) and must obtain certification as a registered nurse. Master’s level education in nursing is also needed, along with specialized training in an accredited institution.
The area of specialization of a nurse practitioner is crucial to the environment where he or she can operate. NPs typically will specialize after they choose which field of healthcare they want to focus on. Many nurse practitioners prefer to stay with family medicine, as this is the most general field. Some concentrate on pediatric treatment, because children will always need immunization shots and vitamin supplements. Some become surgery nurses, or assistants in a cosmetic surgery clinic. Some of the most common medical specialties for nurse practitioners include elderly care, gynecology, cardiology, primary care and oncology.
Nurse practitioners are looking at almost ninety thousand dollars a year. This annual income is higher than what other employees get in their day jobs.