NP "role" definitionA nurse practitioner is any independent certified nursing care provider who offers primary, specialty, or both primary and specialty, nursing services in long-term, ambulatory and acute care settings. NPs are engaged in the chronic or acute episodic ailment assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and management. They are specialists in the areas of illness prevention and health promotion, and perform the tasks of ordering, performing, overseeing and interpreting lab and diagnostic tests, prescribing non-pharmacologic treatment and pharmacological mediators, and educating and advising their patients (American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 2015).

History of the Nurse Practitioner Role, in General

The demand for individuals providing primary care in the nation grew with the launch of the Medicaid and Medicare initiatives, developed after the enactment of the 1965 Social Security Amendments. The two initiatives ensured low-income kids, women, aged persons, and disabled individuals could now access healthcare. Thus, with the enhanced need for healthcare providers in primary care settings, nurses obviously assumed the responsibility of educating families with regard to illness prevention and health promotion.

All through the nation, nursing care leaders reached a consensus that nursing professionals were cognizant of, and experienced in tackling, kids' and families' healthcare requirements. The consensus resulted in a growth of their responsibilities and roles to match those of primary care doctors. In the year 1965, Loretta Ford, a nursing leader, developed the nation's earliest NP training program in collaboration with Dr. Henry Silver. The program, which was available at the University of Colorado, concentrated on the areas of family health, health promotion and disease prevention (History of nurse practitioners in the United States, 2014).

Family Nurse Practitioner

A specialty under the NP profession is the FNP or family nurse practitioner. An FNP is an APRN (advanced practice registered nurse) who operates independently or collaborates with other health care providers for delivering family-directed therapy (Family Nurse Practitioner, 2016). PRIMEX, one among the foremost family nurse practitioner initiatives, was introduced into the University of Washington; ever since, FNPs have been engaging patients/clients in care, aiding them in comprehending their ailment, and educating them on practical measures to adopt for improving health (Britt, 2012).

History of the FNP role

Healthcare's mounting complexity and the decrease in primary care doctor supply has led a number of patients to approach FNPs to take care of primary care issues. FNPs assist their clients in chronic and acute ailment management. They carry out physical tests,...

They engage in patient diagnosis and treatment right from the patient's childhood into adulthood.
Significance of the FNP Role to Promote and Preserve Healthy Communities

FNPs are enjoying a more prominent role in the sense that they make up nearly 50% of the overall NP workforce. Their role offers flexibility, as FNPs are able to take care of patients from diverse age groups. From the point-of-view of FNPs, the patient is the overall family. Thus, FNPs treat patients within the familial context (Britt, 2012).

Licensure vs. Certification

Licensure

The term 'licensure' denotes a process whereby a person is authorized by any local, state, or federal government agency to offer his/her services in some specific vocation, subject to the governmental authority's rules. Such an individual may tag the label of "licensed" to his/her professional role, indicating legal authority to practice that role (Licensure vs. Certification, n.d.).

Certification

On the other hand, the term 'certification' is employed to denote a process whereby private institutions recognize people who meet particular conditions specified by that institution. The person will be recognized for superior skills and knowledge. It represents a kind of voluntary self-regulation, as it isn't mandatory before one can practice. Furthermore, certifications are not overseen by the government (Licensure vs. Certification, n.d).

Differences between Licensure and Certification

It is compulsory to acquire a license prior to commencing practice of any profession. State regulations might even have provisions of administrative or criminal fines for an individual who is caught practicing without license. Fines for licensure law violations are different for different states. Meanwhile, professionals normally pursue certifications for self-promotion, as well as with an aim at distinguishing between different practitioners. Certification is not compulsory, and if an individual loses his/her certification recognition, or fails to obtain one altogether, he/she will not be liable to governmental fines. This constitutes one difference between certification and licensure (Licensure vs. Certification, n.d).

A second difference existing between licensure and certification in case of a number of healthcare professions deals with the organization administering the qualification. Generally, licenses for healthcare professionals are provided by federal or state governments. But certificates are normally accorded by private organizations (non-profit organizations, nursing associations, etc.) having authority in any given field, rather than public ones (Wandrei, 2016).

Examples of both Concepts

Following the certification of a…