Nurse practitioners (NPs) are crucial pillars of every community medical team. These professionals not only perform the traditional nursing roles, but they also specialize in different fields, from pediatrics and mental health to gerontology. What sets NPs apart from other healthcare professionals is that they focus on delivering holistic patient care.
They also work in areas with limited healthcare resources and a shortage of physicians. In communities such as this, NPs often become the primary healthcare providers. They fill the gaps of physicians, and ensure that every patient receives quality care. It is undoubtedly a highly fulfilling career.
If you want to broaden your scope and become an NP, you can enroll in educational opportunities at the University of Indianapolis. The university offers some of the best nurse practitioner specialties, such as its MSN-FNP and MSN-AGPCNP degree programs. These programs equip aspiring NPs with the best practices and skills they need to excel in their roles.
This article will discuss the roles of NPs in community medical teams, and why they hold such importance.
Nurse practitioners’ roles in community medical teams
NPs are a vital addition to any community healthcare setting, and these are some of their roles in medical teams.
Primary care providers
NPs perform various tasks that are traditionally associated with general practitioners. They diagnose illnesses, conduct physical exams and treat common chronic conditions. These professionals can take on the role of physicians as primary healthcare providers. For example, if a patient comes in with symptoms of a respiratory infection, an NP can perform an evaluation on this individual, order the necessary tests, and treat them appropriately. These activities are actions that a physician would normally take, but many underserved communities have no attending physicians. This is where NPs showcase their skills.
NPs are able to do all this because of the training they receive and the certifications they attain. NPs can treat babies, older adults, women, men, people with mental health conditions, and more. In fact, family nurse practitioners (FNPs) are trained to provide primary care services to every age group, from infants to older adults. Pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs), on the other hand, only focus on children’s healthcare. They may work with pediatricians to manage common childhood conditions, such as asthma or ear infections.
These specialties are invaluable in community settings, where there are usually low medical resources and attendance. An NP in a rural area with scarce medical resources can serve the entire community’s primary care needs. The same goes for a gerontology-specialized nurse in an urban community. The nurse can care for the healthcare needs of the elderly population. The versatility of NPs allows them to fill significant gaps in healthcare delivery.
Chronic disease management
NPs not only diagnose and treat, but also continuously monitor and work with patients to help them manage their chronic disease, whether it’s diabetes or heart disease. An NP managing a diabetic patient may monitor the patient’s insulin level and recommend dietary changes.
What makes NPs so effective at managing chronic conditions is that they can specialize in almost all medical fields. An adult gerontology nurse practitioner can treat common conditions that affect older adults, such as hypertension and arthritis. A psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner can also manage mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety over a long period.
NPs can alleviate the workload on physicians. They have basic knowledge of common ailments and can attend to patients with these ailments. This allows doctors to focus on more complex cases.
Their specialized care can also improve patient outcomes. Patients with chronic conditions usually need consistent monitoring and prompt treatment adjustment. NPs are well-equipped to offer this treatment. NPs can monitor the health scale of their patients to create alternative care plans if they aren’t improving, or they can tailor their treatment plan to suit their lifestyle better.
Besides caring for these individuals, NPs can also educate them on how they can modify their lifestyles. This is possible because NPs spend more time with patients than physicians. The time they share gives them the opportunity to educate their patients on these lifestyle modifications.
Health education
One of the primary roles of NPs is guiding people on disease prevention, lifestyle choices and managing existing conditions. For example, an NP in a community clinic might educate a patient with high cholesterol on how their diet significantly contributes to their condition and how they can alter it to improve their health.
NPs often leverage their specialized training to offer targeted health education. A PNP might focus on educating young parents about vaccination schedules and childhood nutrition, and a mental health nurse practitioner might educate patients on how to harness coping mechanisms for stress.
The end goal of health education is good patient outcomes. Patients are more likely to engage in proactive health behaviors when they’re educated about their conditions. Eventually, this creates a ripple effect where there are fewer hospital readmissions, lower healthcare costs, and improved quality of life for patients.
Health education also creates a well-informed community, especially when there are little to no medical resources. Communities that are well-informed about how to care for their health can avoid hospital visits more often, reducing the need for specialized physicians.
Diagnostic testing
NPs are trained to order various diagnostic tests, such as blood work, X-rays and other imaging studies when needed. They can also perform specific tests, such as strep throat swabs or urinalysis. An NP in a family practice may order a complete blood count (CBC) to rule out an infection or an electrocardiogram (EKG) to check if their patients have any heart issues.
These nurses can order and interpret tests thanks to their extensive and specialized training. An acute care nurse practitioner is trained to monitor, order tests and analyze them for patients with severe or unstable conditions. A good example is an NP ordering tests to identify the early signs of sepsis in a patient with a high fever. The role of NPs in diagnostic testing is to quickly identify symptoms and order the necessary tests to confirm them. It’s easier for NPs to pick up on these symptoms as they spend the most time with patients.
NPs, through their diagnostic abilities, can accelerate the diagnostics process. They don’t need to refer the patient to another provider for diagnostic tests, and this can significantly reduce the timeframe from when the patient comes in to get checked to when treatment is administered. This reduced time is especially crucial for more severe conditions that need immediate interventions, such as infections or acute cardiac arrest.
NPs can also use their interpretative skills to decide on the next best action, whether to start a treatment regimen or refer the patient to a specialist for more advanced care.
Prescribing medications
NPs have the authority to prescribe medications in 50 states in the US. Some states allow full autonomy on drug prescriptions, while some require that physicians monitor nurses when prescribing. This authority is mainly to streamline healthcare processes.
NPs’ prescribing power extends to various pharmaceutical drugs, including antibiotics to manage infections and antihypertensive medications for high blood pressure. As an NP, you may diagnose a patient with a bacterial sinus infection and directly prescribe antibiotics to solve the medical issue. This reduces the need for patients to visit another physician for a prescription, especially in a community with few or no physicians. The time reduction can also be a lifesaver in time-sensitive situations where delays can worsen a patient’s condition.
NPs’ prescribing authority is most important in rural areas, where they are the most accessible healthcare providers to these communities. They spend more time with patients, and this gives them an insight into the patient’s medical history, symptoms and concerns, which helps them target their prescriptions better.
Prescribing the drugs also gives NPs the chance to educate patients about potential side effects and possible drug interactions. Of course, if patients know and trust the nurse, which is possible through their interactions, they may adhere more to their medication, which ultimately improves patient outcomes.
Specialty care
Specialization is one of the defining features of the NP role. Every NP’s role varies, depending on their field. Pediatric nurse practitioners primarily work with children and manage their illnesses. Oncology nurse practitioners focus on treating and caring for cancer patients. Emergency nurse practitioners work in emergency rooms or urgent care centers to treat minor injuries and severe traumas.
Beyond this, NPs can specialize in cardiology, mental health, orthopedics and many other fields. Their specialization allows for targeted medical services tailored to the specific needs of a community. For example, an area with a high population of older adults would need an NP who specializes in gerontology to improve their quality of care.
Another advantage is that NPs are experts at what they do. The specialties they have often require advanced training and certification. Because of this, patients are not just seeing a generalist on their medical issues – they’re meeting with experts who can solve their medical problems. This level of expertise builds trust between the nurse and their patients.
Telemedicine
Telemedicine uses digital technology to deliver healthcare services remotely. It gives healthcare providers, including doctors and NPs, a platform to consult, diagnose and even treat their patients without the need for an in-person visit. These technological methods include video conferencing, audio communication and sometimes text messages. For instance, an FNP can conduct a video consultation to assess a patient’s flu-like symptoms and prescribe medication online without asking them to come for a check-up.
Telemedicine offers timely healthcare interventions, especially when patients can’t reach the hospital or healthcare facility in time. As well as the convenience it provides, quick access to an NP through telemedicine can also save patients’ lives. For example, NPs can use telemedicine to guide someone experiencing severe allergic reactions through emergency treatments until they reach a hospital.
In cases where the aid of a physician or another specialist is needed, telemedicine allows seamless collaboration among healthcare providers. A cardiology nurse practitioner, for instance, can consult with a remote cardiologist to discuss a complex case. This collaborative approach can help healthcare professionals diagnose patients better, and better diagnosis often leads to better patient outcomes.
Coordinating care
NPs are a nexus between various healthcare providers to ensure that every patient receives comprehensive care. These professionals are usually patients’ main point of contact, which is understandable as they manage different aspects of their care.
However, they also serve as a connecting link between these patients and other healthcare professionals. They discuss the patient’s progress and health risks with other professionals, filling them in on everything they need to know before seeing the patient. This way, the necessary information can be passed seamlessly between patients and their healthcare providers.
Care coordination brings NPs close to several other specialization paths. An orthopedic nurse practitioner can coordinate with physical therapists, surgeons and pain management specialists to discuss and plan out a holistic treatment plan for a patient with a fractured bone. This makes a significant difference in reducing redundancy and medical errors. NPs can ensure that tests aren’t unnecessarily repeated and that all healthcare providers are on the same page regarding the patient’s health.
Care coordination is particularly valuable in chronic disease management, where one patient may need doctors, specialists, pharmacists and dietitians. When healthcare services are aligned and organized around the patient’s needs, treatment can be more effective and also quicken recovery.
Conclusion
NPs are versatile figures in healthcare. They can treat illnesses, manage chronic diseases and fill in where doctors may be scarce. They’re also crucial for patient education and can streamline healthcare by ordering tests and prescribing medications. Overall, NPs play an essential part in making healthcare more efficient, accessible and patient-centered.
