Family nurse practitioner role in a hospital setting

Family Nurse Practitioner

Working as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) in a Hospitalist Role

FNPs can work in different settings within the health care environment -- they can work in the emergency room (ER), intensive care unit (ICU), or as hospitalists. This role requires wide-ranging academic and professional qualifications and rigorous licensure procedures. In this paper, I describe the kind of organization I would expect to work for as a FNP as well as my advanced nursing role within the organization. I also identify the professional fit for a role in advanced nursing as well as licensing or professional nursing organizations that would support my role in the organization.

Type of Organization and the Clients It Serves

The organization I would expect to work for as a FNP is a hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. The organization is a 190-bed hospital offering a wide range of outpatient and inpatient services to patients of all ages. The services cover disciplines such as primary care, emergency care, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, urology, nephrology, cardiology, and oncology. Other services offered include behavioral health, endocrinology, orthopedics, digestive care, eye care, wound care, pain management, as well as health education and promotion. With over 1,300 employees, the organization serves Wake County, one of the most populous counties in the state, with a population in excess of one million people.

Professional Fit for Advanced Nursing Role

The advanced nursing role is without a doubt a critical role requiring strong academic and professional qualifications. To become an advanced nurse practitioner (NP), one requires a post-graduate nursing degree. Important knowledge areas include pathophysiology, pharmacology, nursing theory, health promotion, population health, and leadership. The NP program must be one approved by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). It is often recommendable for one to have one to two years of experience before proceeding to a NP program. One must also have a state license, which is awarded after passing the National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN), which is administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCBSN). The exam covers areas such as care safety and effectiveness, health promotion, as well as physiological and psychosocial integrity (Nursing License Map, n.d.).

Certifications in specific fields are also required. In the case of FNP, for instance, one requires certification in FNP. FNP certification exams are administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). The exam focuses on assessing the nurse\'s understanding of, among other areas, nursing theory, pharmacology, as well as assessment and diagnostic procedures. On passing the exam, one can then apply for a license to practice as a FNP in their preferable state. The certification should be renewed every 5 years (Nursing License Map, n.d.).

Besides professional qualifications, the advanced nursing role requires outstanding communication, interpersonal, organizational, time-management, analytical, problem solving, and decision making skills. These skills are particularly important as the role encompasses a great deal of interaction with patients, their families, and other health care professionals, as well as planning care, solving complex situations, and incorporating evidence into practice. These skills are important for ensuring effective care delivery and patient satisfaction.

My Role in the Organization

In my FNP practice, I would expect to play the role of a hospitalist. A hospitalist NP provides direct care to inpatients in a hospital setting (Ford, 2009). This often includes patients without a primary care physician or whose physician is unable to visit them in the hospital. In conjunction with physicians, or with the supervision of a physician, hospitalist NPs are involved in charting medical history, evaluating health status, diagnosing illness, and coordinating hospitalization for patients within the context of family practice. Their role also involves examining patients, ordering and interpreting tests, planning care, prescribing medical or therapeutic interventions, administering the interventions, assigning patients to physicians, monitoring patient status, assisting doctors during complex medical procedures such as surgery, counseling and educating patients, as well as communicating with the patient\'s family, physicians, and other members of the interdisciplinary care team (Nursing License Map, n.d.).

Licensing/Professional Nursing Organization