Saturday, March 10, 2012

What It Takes to Work as a Nurse Practitioner

There are different nurse practitioner programs that one can take for a nursing education, and these can vary from one to another. You have to consider which is the most suitable NP program that will cater to your needs. By choosing the right NP program, you can look forward to a strong foundation in your education and eventually, a lucrative nursing career in the future.

The choice that you make will eventually dictate the career path that you will take later on. It is therefore important that you find a way to discern the right program for you. How do you select the best program out of the variety of choices?

Nurse practitioners (NPs) have given healthcare service to patients for over 40 years. The role of nurse practitioners had its origin in the mid-60s as a response to a national shortage of physicians. Although the main concern of NPs is to offer aid to those who need primary care, there are also NPs who are licensed to work on more serious issues in health and patient care.

NPs are able to promote a comprehensive move to health care as well as give emphasis to the general health of their patients. Nurse practitioners are registered nurses who are equipped, through clinical training and education, to provide healthcare services to people of all ages. NPs nowadays are also finding ways to give better service by entering graduate school.

Students who aim to become nurse practitioners should first consider getting themselves a degree in BS in Nursing. Acquiring a Bachelor of Science in Nursing can be achieved by going into college. You cannot attend if you have no bachelor’s degree – simply put, certificates or associate’s degree are not allowed – so bear this in mind when looking for the best school.

To get a good NP education, you should choose among those that cover the essentials in patient care and service in order to get a solid learning foundation course. You can also opt for a better method by taking a master's degree in nursing. In the U.S., direct-entries for Masters degree in Nursing are widely available.

It will be easy for you to find the right NP program since there are a lot of possible options available. There are the traditional schools with nursing courses as well as the time-deferred option, which lets you get your degree over a longer span of time. Some institutions also offer online NP courses in order to cater students who want a degree but are also want to work full-time or need to stay at home.

Nowadays, a lot of students are opting for the distance-learning option. Accreditation from American Nurses Credentialing Center or American Academy of Nurse Practitioners should be taken into account when looking for a distance-learning program. Aside from that, you should also verify with the US Department of Education in order to check the reliability of the online study program.

The next step that you will have to take after completing your program is to secure yourself a state license. Every state follows certain licensing standards and requirements and these may vary from one to another. Prior to the application process, you should read first what you need for your state license.

Since you want to get into the best NP program possible, you have to commit and understand what each course and program has to offer. Make sure that the program covers a number of important topics. These may include family nursing, geriatric nursing, acute and chronic care, women’s health, patient relations and other vital areas concerning the health and safety of the patients.



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