NURS 6565 Week 1: The Emerging Role of Nurse Practitioners in Diverse Clinical Settings
In the 1940’s and 1950’s, Loretta Ford, known as the pioneer for nurse practitioners (NPs), was a public health nurse in rural Colorado. During that time period there was a shortage of physicians to care for children and families. In 1965, Loretta Ford and Dr. Henry K. Silver started the first pediatric nurse practitioner program at the University of Colorado Medical Center. Since this time, nurse practitioners have been in great demand to meet the health care needs of individuals, families and communities. The year 2015, marked the 50th year of NPs providing care to a variety of patients across the lifespan in primary, acute, and subspecialty care areas.
The role of nurse practitioners has evolved over the years. Nurse practitioners are prepared to prevent diseases, promote health, treat diseases, and support health maintenance. Nurse practitioners are well known and equipped to provide safe, quality, cost-effective, and accessible care.
This week you will focus on the emerging role of nurse practitioners and review the history and practices of nurse practitioners. Also, you will explore the emerging role of nurse practitioners in clinical settings, conduct a professional self-assessment, and you will develop goals for mastery of clinical skills.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this week, students will:
- Create professional goals to support your transition from RN to NP practice to promote positive social change
- Evaluate mastery of NP clinical skills
- Evaluate professional strengths and weaknesses
- Analyze practices of advanced practice nurses
Assignment 1: Professional Goals (NURS 6565 Week 1: The Emerging Role of Nurse Practitioners in Diverse Clinical Settings)
Developing professional goals is critical to guiding your career and transitioning to become a practicing NP. The goals that you develop should be SMART. SMART goals are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-specific (Massachusetts Institute of Technology Human Resources, n.d.). Keeping your goals SMART will increase your chances of meeting or exceeding your professional career goals.
For this Assignment, you will identify three short-term and three long-term goals. You also will explain how each goal relates to your professional career development and how you might achieve each of these goals.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Human Resources (n.d.). SMART goals. Retrieved from http://hrweb.mit.edu/performance-development/goal-setting-developmental-planning/smart-goals
To prepare:
- Review the SMART Goals Learning Resources
- Consider professional goals that you might select to help focus on your transition from RN to NP practice.
By Day 7
For this Assignment, write a paper that is no more than 2 pages long that addresses the following:
- Identify at least three short-term goals (1-2 years)
- Identify at least three long-term goals (3-5 years)
- Explain why you selected each goal and how they relate to your professional career development
- Create a strategic plan that explains how you might achieve each of these goals
- NURS 6565 Week 1: The Emerging Role of Nurse Practitioners in Diverse Clinical Settings
