A nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) who has completed graduate-level education (either a Master of nursing or Doctor of Nursing Practice degree). Nurse practitioners treat both physical and mental conditions through comprehensive history taking, physical exams, ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests. NPs can then diagnose certain diseases and provide appropriate treatment for the patients, including prescribing select medications. NPs can serve as a patient's primary health care provider, and see patients of all ages depending on their specialty (family, pediatrics, geriatrics, etc.). The core philosophy of the field is individualized care that focuses on patients' conditions as well as the effects of illness on the lives of the patients and their families. NPs make prevention, wellness, and patient education priorities. In addition to health care services, NPs conduct research and are often active in patient advocacy activities. To become licensed/certified to practice, Nurse Practitioners hold national board certification in an area of specialty (such as family, women's health, pediatrics, adult, acute care, etc.), and are licensed through the state nursing boards.
According to the International Council of Nurses, an NP/advanced practice nurse is "a registered nurse who has acquired the expert knowledge base, complex decision-making skills and clinical competencies for expanded practice, the characteristics of which would be determined by the context in which s/he is credentialed to practice."
Additional advanced practice RN roles include the certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA)s, CNMs, and CNSs.
Nurse practitioners can be educated and nationally certified in areas of family health (FNP), pediatrics, including pediatric acute/chronic care, pediatric critical care, pediatric oncology and general pediatrics (PNP), neonatology (NNP), gerontology (GNP), women's health (WHNP), psychiatry & mental health (PMHNP), acute care (ACNP), adult health (ANP), oncology (FNP, ACNP, ANP, PNP or ANP) emergency (as FNP or ACNP), occupational health (as ANP or FNP), etc. In Canada, NPs are licensed by the province or territory in which they practice.
Read more about Nurse Practitioner: History, Scope of Practice, Practice Settings, Education, Licensing, and Board Certification in The United States, United States, Australia, Role in Healthcare, Specialties, Post-nominal Credentials and Initials
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“Probably if our lives were more conformed to nature, we should not need to defend ourselves against her heats and colds, but find her our constant nurse and friend, as do plants and quadrupeds.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)