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Archive for the ‘Nursing’ Category

There are many nursing titles and it can be difficult for those outside of the nursing profession to tell them apart. Nursing practitioners have some of the most expansive job descriptions among all nurses but how are they different from other nurses? What exactly are the differences between nurse practitioners and other nursing professions?

Two Years Of Nurse Practitioner Training

The first concrete difference between nurse practitioners is that nurse practitioners undergo two years of nurse practitioner training. This extra training allows them to do many things other types of nurses cannot. These differences are the real story.

Diagnosis

Nurse practitioners don’t just assist doctors. They may diagnose patients on their own. This is the first of many ways in which nurse practitioners are seen to take on duties that are more commonly associated with doctors.

Treatment

Along with diagnosing patients, nurse practitioners will also be the ones recommending or administering treatments in many cases. Again, this is a case where the duties of a nurse practitioner go far beyond the realm of duties usually associated with nurses.

Prescribing Medications

This is a big difference between NPs and other nurses. NPs can prescribe medications as a part of a patient’s treatment process. No other type of nurse has the ability to prescribe medications. They can only work with medications in other capacities that fall short of prescribing them.

X-Rays And Other Tests

Nurse practitioners may go so far as to take x-rays or as to administer other types of tests.

Physical Examinations

Physical examinations may also be conducted by nurse practitioners. With the list of things that nurse practitioners can do, you can start to see how they can take over much of the role that doctors usually fill.

Work Independently

All this adds up to nurse practitioners being able to work independently. Their work may be overseen by a doctor but they need very little to no assistance in handling patients. In some settings nurse practitioners have taken the place of doctors because of their ability to handle the whole process of diagnosis and treatment. Other types of nurses work under the supervision of doctors who are often the ones making the big decisions while nurse practitioners are unambiguously able to call the shots themselves.

Many Duties Traditionally Assigned To Doctors

To sum it all up, the main difference between nurse practitioners and other nursing professionals is that nurse practitioners appear to be closer to doctors in their job description than they are to nurses. They bridge the gap between the two professions and many would assert that they are more solidly standing on the side of the line inhabited by doctors. They can work independently to diagnose, treat, and educate patients like doctors do.

There are many differences between nurse practitioners and other nursing professionals. What is even more intriguing is what these differences might mean for the future of medicine. Will nurse practitioners take on more duties of doctors in the future and what could this mean for doctors if they aren’t the only ones who can do the job?

Thomas Rheinecker blogs about how to discover the best accelerated nurse practitioner schools.