Abstract
In the world, nurse practitioners are crucial to advancing healthcare in public institutions. The focus of nurses’ health promotion efforts in traditional culture had been on disease prevention and people’s evolving attitudes toward their medical situations. However, because these nurses have broad knowledge and expertise in health promotions in their area of nursing practice, their roles as health promoters are more complex. Therefore, it is important to emphasize and present the duties of individuals who meet the requirements to become Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANP), the benefits of becoming a nurse practitioner, and the impacts that these professionals have on the healthcare sector and patient outcomes.
Introduction
The rising global healthcare needs and expenses prompted the necessity to introduce and enhance Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) professions in the nursing industry. It was created due to the unmet healthcare requirements of increasing populations, particularly in rural areas. Early nurse practitioners (NP) could evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients using the medical model of care. Since then, nursing has expanded as a profession in tandem with its distinctive, holistic, and scientific understanding. Staff, patients, and organizational outcomes have all been dramatically impacted by the implementation of ANP roles in acute hospitals.
Additionally, several clinical professionals have benefited from these responsibilities. APNs’ value has expanded due to their demonstrated nursing skill in various fields, including education, clinical practice, research, and leadership. Because of this, many nations, like Saudi Arabia, are prepared to define, govern, and legislate APNs.
An aesthetic nurse practitioner
The general responsibilities of an advanced nurse practitioner include treating and diagnosing illnesses, educating or empowering the public on health matters, managing patients’ chronic conditions, and constantly engaging in continuing education to stay abreast of methodological, technological, and other advancements in the healthcare industry. Also, an aesthetic/cosmetic nurse practitioner is a registered nurse who treats patients with cosmetic problems (Haney, 2020). Aesthetic nurse practitioners can work in clinics, med spas, and private practices, among other places. They provide care to people who want to alter their appearance cosmetically. Together, they work to make them look better while providing counselling and medical care. Additionally, they carry out surgery on patients seeking cosmetic improvements and are in charge of looking after them as they recover.
These nurses always treat the problematic area to the best of their abilities. This is achieved through a variety of techniques, medications, and treatments. The treatments these nurses can provide to patients seeking cosmetic enhancements range widely and include alternatives like thermage, chemical peels, Botox injections, and sclerotherapy, among others. The ANP can also operate on people with complex medical conditions. A person needs to have foundational skills and abilities to improve their practice to qualify as an ANP. Aesthetic NPs need a variety of talents, including interpersonal, clinical, and excellent communication abilities. These abilities are crucial for ensuring that patients receive the best care possible. Aesthetic nursing typically expresses itself through inspiration, empathy, and appreciation. Nurses can significantly improve the quality of nursing care by turning their knowledge into artistic acts using aesthetic knowledge, enhanced contemplation, and sensibility.
Why become a nurse practitioner?
Being able to care for all kinds of patients elevates the nurse practitioner’s position to a high degree. Most of a nurse practitioner’s work involves managing diseases and promoting and preventing health. Additionally, a nurse practitioner’s job is to assist patients in developing confidence in their health during the most painful periods. As a result, everything revolves around directing and counselling people on or against specific treatments. Since the former has always been my interest, being a nurse practitioner will allow me to diagnose illnesses, administer various drugs, and advise patients on lifestyle changes as part of my treatment plan. The patients would be able to enjoy their lives to the fullest through appropriate treatment. Due to its flexibility, one may also decide to become a nurse practitioner. It is primarily due to its versatility and the range of specialization possibilities available. Among the alternatives would include specializing in pediatrics, psychiatry, or family medicine. The career of a nurse practitioner is at the pinnacle due to their adaptability and the rising demand for care in their position.
Second, given that nurse practitioners’ functions are comparable to those of medical doctors, they can naturally rise to leadership positions in the healthcare sector. They can participate more actively than regular registered nurses in healthcare policy-changing legislation because of their extensive education, training, and experience. Third, a person can control their work schedule with nurse practitioners without inconvenience (Cooper et al., 2022).
Fraze, T. K., Briggs, A. D., Whitcomb, E. K., Peck, K. A., & Meara, E. (2020). Role of nurse practitioners in caring for patients with complex health needs. Medical care, 58(10), 853.
The goal of Fraze et al. (2020) research is to identify the function of nurse practitioners in providing care for patients with complex medical requirements. The authors estimated the percentage of Medicare recipients who received care from nurse practitioners between 2012 and 2017. The data was used to evaluate how the rate of beneficiaries varies by practice characteristics and to describe beneficiaries treated by nurse practitioners in 2017. Medicare participants’ ambulatory visits throughout the specified years were observed as part of the study’s design.
The clinical and beneficiary characteristics were then contrasted with those of the primary provider, such as a doctor. According to the findings, beneficiaries who received care in medical settings were more likely to have a nurse practitioner serve as their primary provider. This suggests that nurse practitioners are now providing treatment for Medicare seniors with complicated requirements at a higher rate than their physician counterparts. As a result, the importance of nurse practitioners, particularly in the healthcare system, has increased, increasing the value of this job.
Need of nurse practitioners by IOM
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) congress is still debating, with the primary topic of discussion being how the country’s healthcare system would treat additional millions more Americans in the future (Jacobsen et al., 2022). The Institute of Medicine (IOM) thinks that expanding the role of healthcare providers, including pharmacists, doctors, and notably nurses, is vital to ensure that high-quality care is available to the various communities of the United States. To address this challenge, the healthcare industry’s stakeholders have created a vision for a changed healthcare system. The IOM report acknowledged that many healthcare systems needed to be reformed regarding nursing to encourage a more significant healthcare workforce to operate effectively and efficiently. The IOM report recognized the need for nurses to practice following their professional training and for nursing education to better equip them for providing high-quality care to increase the role of nurses.
Effects an APN Can Have on Healthcare Industry and Patient Outcomes
Advanced practice nurses at their advanced level, develop their aptitude and capacity in their services. They boost clinical leadership and facilitate cross-disciplinary teamwork to manage health hazards. Rising national healthcare spending has existed for a long time. As a result, the NP solution is to make healthcare services more accessible and affordable while streamlining the health sector. Evidence suggests that advanced nurse practitioners offer high-quality, cost-effective treatment. Studies examining the cost-effectiveness of NP practice concluded that NPs might save up to 33% on patient visits costs (Smyth et al., 2022). APNs may strengthen the healthcare workforce, improving value and access to healthcare.
NPs consistently deliver high-quality patient care, leading to favourable patient outcomes. According to studies, patients who receive APN treatment may need to stay in the hospital for fewer days and require fewer readmissions due to sickness. The extensive education and training the nurses receive may enable them to advance their expertise in anything they perform. Therefore, the advanced nursing practice should be encouraged to meet today’s healthcare needs and promote professional development.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it has been established via numerous studies on healthcare promotion that nurses have not yet participated in other activities other than those that improve and promote health. As a result, nurses are the only people who actively promote general health, and they do so by educating patients and conducting health promotion activities. More research is necessary to understand ways to assist nurses in adopting health promotion in their jobs across a range of health care services because nursing is an acceptable profession in which to do so.
References
Cooper, M. A., McDowell, J., Raeside, L., & ANP–CNS Group. (2019). The similarities and differences between advanced nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists. British Journal of Nursing, 28(20), 1308-1314.
Fraze, T. K., Briggs, A. D., Whitcomb, E. K., Peck, K. A., & Meara, E. (2020). Role of nurse practitioners in caring for patients with complex health needs. Medical care, 58(10), 853.
Haney, B. (2020). Aesthetic Procedures: Nurse Practitioner’s Guide to Cosmetic Dermatology (No. 180594). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Jacobsen, J., Jackson, V., Asfaw, S., Greenwald, J. L., & Slavin, P. (2022). One Hospital’s Response to the Institute of Medicine Report,“Dying in America”. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 63(2), e182-e187.
Smyth, P., Watson, K. E., Al Hamarneh, Y. N., & Tsuyuki, R. T. (2022). The effect of nurse practitioner (NP-led) care on health-related quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis–a randomized trial. BMC neurology, 22(1), 1-12.
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