NUR 513 Week 8 Benchmark Assignment

Assignment: Future Scope, Role, And Professional Obligations of Advanced Registered Nursing Graduate

Introduction

As a result of the rapidly increasing demand for primary care providers and the assertion that advanced registered nurses will be paramount in improving the accessibility to advanced, high-quality medical care, different legislations and policies will be implemented to meet the demand. Currently, there are over 267,000 APRNs in the United States, representing the leading force in the healthcare system (Casey et al., 2017). The Consensus Model was developed to provide a national guideline for the different states in America to adopt uniformity in the required of advanced practice registered nurse roles. Once the model is implemented in all the states, it will become easier for advanced registered graduate nurses to be able to practice from state to state. The future of nursing as a profession is to improve the quality of care. This paper elaborates the future scope, role, and professional obligations of an advanced registered nurse.

Professional Roles and Scope of Practice

According to the APRN Consensus Model, An advanced registered nurse practitioner can hold one of the four main roles: certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nurse midwife, nurse practitioner, and a clinical nurse specialist (In Blair, & In Mirr, 2015). Some of the general functions of an advanced registered nursing practitioner include:

• performing physical exams
• diagnosing patients as they come to the hospital
• requesting for lab test and interpreting the results
• developing a differential diagnosis
• evaluating patient compliance with treatment and adjusting the care plan
• Maintaining patients records
• Counseling patients and their families
• Being available for consultation by patients who have not yet chosen a course of action
• Taking part in research studies
• Administering drugs to patients
• Referring patients to other treatment facilities

In as much as registered nurses perform some of the above roles, advanced practice nurses are allowed to make decisions, suggest corrective action for certain health complications, and determine the care plan for the patient under their watch. Additionally, advanced registered nurses always serve in a consulting capacity to other nurses (In Blair, & In Mirr, 2015). They are allowed to offer advice, help in examining the patient and craft new treatment plans. Generally, their primary role is improving the overall quality of care in the particular healthcare setting at which they work.

Licensure, Accreditation, Certification and Education.

Due to the varied duties of an advanced registered nursing practitioner, different medical settings and states in the U.S have diverse requirements regarding the national certification and the precise nature of the education that advanced registered nursing practitioners must have. Nevertheless, a master’s degree is the necessary minimum anywhere (Kumaran, & Carney, 2014). Advanced nursing practitioners are expected to have either a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). Most of the time, nurse practitioners usually start as a becoming advanced practice nurses. Regarding getting licensed as an advanced nurse practitioner, different states have different requirements. Each state’s nursing board will set out the necessities for advanced practice licensing (Halcomb et al., 2016).

Generally, the following steps are followed to become a practicing registered advanced nurse: earn a nursing undergraduate degree, become a registered nurse by passing the NCLEX-RN, complete a graduate degree in the nursing field, obtain an Advanced Practice Nursing license and lastly obtaining certification in a precise patient population focus. Advanced nurse practitioner programs must, however, be accredited by the ‘ (ACEN)’ or the ‘ (CCNE)’ (McInnes, Peters, Bonney, & Halcomb, 2015).

Advanced Nurse Practitioner Professional Organizations

            Several nurse professional organizations are usually influential when it comes to advancing the scope of advanced nursing. Such organizations include the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP), American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) and the Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health. These organizations have played a momentous role in advocating for their members and in improving the quality of healthcare which is delivered by their respective constituencies (Farrell, Payne, & Heye, 2015). For advanced nurse practitioners, professional organizations help in advancing professional development and encouraging leadership, while giving the nurse a chance to influence policy development and taking part in decisions that work to better the quality of healthcare practice. Most of these organizations do so through a wide range of activities, from education, communication, recognition, research, and advocacy. Some of these organizations also aid in certification in healthcare and the development of practice standards.

Considering my future goals in this diverse profession as a nurse practitioner, I would want to become a member of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). The goals and mission of this organization are inclined towards providing high-quality care to patients in critical condition. Chronic lifestyle ailments such as diabetes and hypertension are increasing in the United States and the world at large (Elliott, & Walden, 2015). With time, the number of trained critical care nurses will not be able to comfortably meet the health needs of the mounting number of patients. It is my dream to become a member of this particular group of professionals to be able to take care of patients who are suffering from chronic illness.

Additionally, the number of the aged population is increasing in the united states. A large percentage of this population is struggling with at least one chronic illness, and thus in need for critical care (Casey et al., 2017). The need for improved quality of healthcare requires a smaller patient to nurse ratio. This can only be achieved by encouraging the nursing student to draw their interest in becoming part of the critical care health team. As a member of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), I will encourage creating awareness and promoting the profession to the public. Generally, a more significant number of trained professionals in the Intensive Care Unit will help reduce mortality rates and even increase life expectancy in the united states.

Evolving Issues in the Healthcare System

In the recent past, the new legislative laws increased the access to healthcare delivery for advanced registered nursing practitioners. Towards, the end of 2017, over 20 states in America reported passage of legislative laws on positively enhancing access to and delivery of healthcare countrywide (Casey et al., 2017). This was displayed in the annual report on legal developments affecting advanced registered nursing practitioners. The report was clearly describing the efforts of the nation in an attempt to provide full practice authority to advanced registered nursing practitioners. All the nurses with advanced degrees and a little bit of clinical experience and play a significant role in enhancing access to health care in a wide geographical area. This legislation explicitly focused on the advanced nursing practitioners as a result of their qualifications and the roles that they play in a hospital setting, unlike registered nurses.

Shortly, the demand for advanced registered nursing practitioners will increase creating more job opportunities. The salaries might also be raised to attract more nurses to further their study and become advanced registered nursing practitioners (Casey et al., 2017). The number of students who will be interested in the profession will also increase. Most nursing training institutions will be required to train a substantial number of graduate nurses, to be able to meet healthcare demands. This might affect the profession both negatively and positively. For instance, the quality of educating nurses might reduce, as most people will be striving to fill the gaps in the field, rather than being competent and advancing their professionalism. Licensing and registration regulations might also be lowered for a larger group of nurses to be able to make it to the field. Consequently, the positive aspects might out way the limitations. Patients will be entitled to a high quality of healthcare from a large number of the advanced registered nursing practitioner. The main goal of the legislation will be attained. The ease of accessibility to quality health care will be extended to a broader geographical area across all the states in the united states. Assignment: Future Scope, Role, And Professional Obligations of Advanced Registered Nursing Graduate.