Advanced Practice Nursing
Compare and Contrast the APRN and MDs scope of practice.
The scope of practices for APRNs is to focus on specific areas of medicine which can be transferred from the hospital to a clinic, skilled nursing facility or outpatient care center. The basic idea is that an RN with several years of experience and advanced training can offer effective health care solutions for families / children. Some of the different areas they are practicing in include: adult / family / pediatric, / gerontological care, psychiatry and mental health. This means that they have a number of duties they will perform to provide primary care to patients. The most notable include: taking / evaluating health histories, conducting physical exams, diagnosing / treating common acute illnesses, giving immunizations, managing high blood pressure / diabetes, ordering / interpreting X-rays / other laboratory tests, counseling on disease prevention / healthy lifestyles and referring patients to other health providers when needed....
("American Nursing Association," 2010) ("Louisiana State Board of Nursing Guidelines," 2011)
While MDs, can serve in a general practice setting or specialize in specific areas of medicine. Under the LSBN scope of practice, they are considered to be highly trained healthcare professionals with precise knowledge. This is different from APRNs, by using their specialized skills to provide more advanced care to patients who have complex diseases. Yet, some of their duties in a general practice setting will involve similar tasks often given to APRNs. Most notably: taking / evaluating health histories, conducting physical exams, diagnosing / treating common acute illnesses, giving immunizations, managing high blood pressure / diabetes, ordering / interpreting X-rays / other laboratory tests, counseling disease prevention / healthy lifestyles and referring patients to other health providers when needed. This is showing how MDs can use their knowledge in…
