Different Nurse Practice Specialties

¶ … Nurse Practice Specialties

The objective of this study is to locate four evidence-based research articles in nursing peer-reviewed journal. Specialty nursing includes various areas of nursing practice, which are examined in this study. Articles reviewed in this study include those related to emerging specialties and opportunities for nurses, Advanced Practice Registered Nursing, Nurse Practitioner Primary Care in Competencies in Specialty Areas, and the Specialty Practice of Nursing Informatics.

The first article examined in this study is the work of Cruz (2012) who reports that Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) "arose out of the trailblazing efforts of nurses from four separate nursing specialties whose individual histories were shaped by a common threat: the answer the call to deliver a high level of healthcare to individuals and groups in an area of clinical practice where a need for such level of healthcare existed." (p.1) Cruz (2012) additionally reports four areas of concern that were "identified as sources of variability in regulatory standards across all member boards" including those of: (1) licensure; (2) program accreditation; (3) national certification; and (4) education. (p.1)

The second article examined is the work of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which reports that specialty content for the nurse practitioner education places an emphasis on "diagnosis and management content appropriate to the population served, clinical practice and the role of the specialty area." (p.5) It is reported that there are several professional nurse practitioner and nursing organizations as well as the federal government that desire to identify the competencies and guidelines in various specialty nursing practice areas for the purpose of the designation of outcomes in education that promote the safety of patients. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2002, paraphrased) The core competencies are reported as the "the gold standard for maintaining and shaping quality graduate degree educational programs." (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2002, p.5) The competencies are such that guide the development of nurse practitioner curriculum as well as the revision of curriculum on a national basis. As well, these competencies "influence credentialing and accrediting bodies, health policymakers, and the federal government's funding of nurse practitioner programs." (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2002, p.5) These competencies additionally are reported to "serve as a model for international nursing organizations developing their own educational framework for nurse practitioner educational preparation." (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2002, p.5)

The third article examined in this study is the work of Beattle (2010) who reports that nurses have been "faced with a dizzying menu of practice areas to consider…as specialization has become more prevalent over the years." (p.1) Specialization is reported to be driven by "different patient populations, body systems and health care delivery models…" (Beattle, 2010, p.1) Beattle reports that traditional nursing specialties "are vital as ever -- and even growing in some cases" however, "a range of newer specialties are also gaining ground." (2010, p.1) Chief Executive Officer of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), Geraldine 'Polly' Bednash, PhD, RN, FAAN, is reported to have stated: "Given the demographics of this country, nurses are finding an increasing number of opportunities for working with older adults in acute care, community health, and long-term care settings." (Beattle, 2010, p.1) Bednash went on to state that with the growing movement for reform of the healthcare system "we expect to see growth in the four advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) roles -- nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, nurse anesthetists, and nurse midwife…" (Beattle, 2010, p.1) Beattle reports that PricewaterhouseCooper's list of top healthcare trends for 2010 states that new nursing opportunities will be influenced by factors that include: "the push to increase quality while cutting healthcare spending; the insurance market and payment reforms, greater adoption of health IT; and new, alternative care delivery models outside of physician's offices and hospitals." (Beattle, 2010, p.1)