Advanced Practice Registered Nurse

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Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), one classification, many roles, and even more responsibilities. An advanced practice registered nurse (APRN), in its simplest form, could be defined as a registered nurse with a postgraduate education in nursing practice, research, and /or administration. (APRN)s are generally prepared with advanced levels of clinical education, knowledge, skills, and scope of practice in nursing . In developing these new skills and competencies the role of the (APRN) can be separated into four different positions; Nurse practitioner, Nurse educator, Nurse informaticist, and Nurse administrator. Comparing the recognized skill sets of clinical practice, primary care, education administration, and research, within …show more content…
The aim of this paper is to take a look at the similarities and differences of the many hats of an APRN. What’s in a name? It is through definition that we can find clarity in ambiguity. Advanced practice nurse or Advanced nursing practice. What is an Advanced Practice Nurse? According to our text, Advanced Practice Nursing is characterized by obtaining new knowledge and skills,increased role autonomy,increased responsibility health promotion, diagnosis, and health management,increased clinical decision making and management, and increased role specialization (Hamric and Hanson, ch 3). Nurse practitioners according to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) can be defined as registered nurses, clinicians, that blend clinical expertise in diagnosing and treating health conditions with an added emphasis on disease prevention and health management. They are prepared through …show more content…
To better differentiate the different skill sets needed to carry out the (APRN) positions being discussed it is necessary to define the skill sets required to perform in these roles. Clinical is defined as work done with real patients. It is the medical treatment that is given to patients in hospitals, clinics, and offices of providers. Practice is defined as the performance of an activity or exercise repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one's proficiency. Based on these definitions it can be assumed that clinical practice can be defined as the work of medical treatment that is given to patients in a clinical setting ( ie. hospital, clinic, office, evt.) repeatedly (reference). Primary care can be defined as the day-to-day health care given by a health care provider. Typically this provider acts as the first contact and principal point of continuing care for patients within a health care system, and coordinates other specialist care that the patient may need (reference). Education administration is a discipline within the study of education that examines the administrative theory and practice of education in educational institutions. In other words how is education administered and what is it focused on (reference). And finally, research is defined as the the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. Research can best be described as the process used