Nurse Practitioner

Overview and Key Facts

Education

Master's degree

Median Pay

$129,210

Job Growth

40.10%

(Above US Average)

Jobs in 2034

448,800

What Do They Do?

 

Take care of kids and make them feel comfortable in a children's hospital.

Educate patients on treatment and medication options after diagnosis.

Consult other doctors and nurse practitioners to give patients the best care.

Help patients manage chronic conditions, like diabetes or hypertension

 

Overview Listen to this section

Are you interested in working in the medical field to be an advocate and care for patients? If so, a nurse practitioner may be the career for you. Nurse practitioners require less school than a doctor, but with similar jobs. Nurse practitioners diagnose and treat illness as a part of a healthcare team or by themselves. Another important piece of their job is to teach patients and their families. They help patients stay healthy and teach them how to manage diseases. Nurse practitioners can work in different types of medical facilities, from hospitals to pediatric medical offices.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smiXChYIRUU

Do You Have the Skills and Characteristics of a Nurse Practitioner?

1. Active Listening: ? Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
2. Complex Problem Solving: ? Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
3. Reading Comprehension: ? Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
4. Critical Thinking: ? Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
5. Social Perceptiveness: ? Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

6. Writing: ? Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
7. Judgment and Decision Making: ? Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
8. Monitoring: ? Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
9. Speaking: ? Talking to others to convey information effectively.
10. Active Learning: ? Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Core Tasks

• Maintain complete and detailed records of patients' health care plans and prognoses.
• Develop treatment plans, based on scientific rationale, standards of care, and professional practice guidelines.
• Provide patients with information needed to promote health, reduce risk factors, or prevent disease or disability.
• Analyze and interpret patients' histories, symptoms, physical findings, or diagnostic information to develop appropriate diagnoses.
• Diagnose or treat complex, unstable, comorbid, episodic, or emergency conditions in collaboration with other health care providers as necessary.
• Prescribe medication dosages, routes, and frequencies, based on such patient characteristics as age and gender.
• Diagnose or treat chronic health care problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
• Prescribe medications based on efficacy, safety, and cost as legally authorized.
• Recommend diagnostic or therapeutic interventions with attention to safety, cost, invasiveness, simplicity, acceptability, adherence, and efficacy.
• Detect and respond to adverse drug reactions, with special attention to vulnerable populations such as infants, children, pregnant and lactating women, or older adults.
• Diagnose or treat acute health care problems, such as illnesses, infections, or injuries.
• Counsel patients about drug regimens and possible side effects or interactions with other substances, such as food supplements, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, or herbal remedies.
• Order, perform, or interpret the results of diagnostic tests, such as complete blood counts (CBCs), electrocardiograms (EKGs), and radiographs (x-rays).
• Educate patients about self-management of acute or chronic illnesses, tailoring instructions to patients' individual circumstances.
• Maintain current knowledge of state legal regulations for nurse practitioner practice, including reimbursement of services.
• Consult with, or refer patients to, appropriate specialists when conditions exceed the scope of practice or expertise.
• Recommend interventions to modify behavior associated with health risks.
• Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in nursing.
• Treat or refer patients for primary care conditions, such as headaches, hypertension, urinary tract infections, upper respiratory infections, and dermatological conditions.
• Perform routine or annual physical examinations.
• Schedule follow-up visits to monitor patients or evaluate health or illness care.
• Maintain departmental policies and procedures in areas such as safety and infection control.
• Advocate for accessible health care that minimizes environmental health risks.
• Perform primary care procedures such as suturing, splinting, administering immunizations, taking cultures, and debriding wounds.
• Provide patients or caregivers with assistance in locating health care resources.
• Keep abreast of regulatory processes and payer systems, such as Medicare, Medicaid, managed care, and private sources.
• Supervise or coordinate patient care or support staff activities.