Exploring the Role of Advanced Practice Nurses – Interview Insights and Scope of Practice Analysis

Exploring the Role of Advanced Practice Nurses – Interview Insights and Scope of Practice Analysis

Family Nurse Practitioners (FNPs) are specialized nurses who diagnose and manage patients independently for families in diversified settings (Dantas et al., 2023). This being the advanced nurse practitioner role I chose, I was privileged to interview Lynne Taylor, an MSN, APRN, and FNP-C who works in Riverview, Florida. Her passion for helping others and working in a healthcare facility were her motivations for pursuing the career, with her main goal being to create a positive impact on patients’ lives by being committed to providing high-quality care. She updates herself through continuous nursing education by collaborating with other nurses in her scope and through research in online e-learning.

The Interviewee’s Organization and Setting

Lynne Taylor works at Riverview Health and Wellness Clinic in Florida, which is an all-inclusive outpatient clinic that offers diverse medical services. It is located on a two-story contemporary building, having ramps and elevators to cater to the needs of individuals with disabilities. It has an adequate waiting bay, examination areas, and places to carry out procedures. The examination and procedure rooms are well equipped with medical equipment that is serviced and checked regularly. The clinic also has a pharmacy and a laboratory that operates tirelessly to attend to their patients in collaboration with another healthcare team. The clinic is also located near major roads and amenities and has a good parking area to accommodate the patient’s means of transport. It serves people of all age groups from various ethnic groups, including individuals from low, middle, and upper-class levels; this enhances the high attendance of patients to seek health care for a variety of health conditions. Lynne Taylor works with physicians and other nurse practitioners, including registered nurses, nurse practitioners from different cadres, medical assistants, social workers, and biomedical staff members.

Regulatory and Legal Requirements

Regulatory and legal requirements are put in place to ensure that family nurse practitioners provide optimum care to patients per the state’s guidelines and standard of care. These laws in Florida, where my interviewee resides and where I plan to work, include educational, licensure, certification, and professional practice. To start with education, one should have a master’s degree in an advanced family setting training. An active registered nurse license from the Florida Board of Nursing after verifying that graduation was from an accredited institution is needed during licensure. Certification should be from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners board. Lastly, they should practice within their scope, and failure to do so is liable by the law. In addition, the renewal of their license is every two years; FNPs should also take part in continuous education through research to be at hand with the evolving medical knowledge (Toney-Butler & Martin, 2023). The legal issues are met by complying with the regulatory bodies that correspond to the practice and practicing ethical principles as laid down in the American Nurses Association.

Scope of Practice of an FNP

Family nurse practitioners have a broad scope of practice inclusive of the following: during the first encounter with the patient, they do a complete head-to-toe assessment and physical examination, diagnose the patient, and request diagnostic studies and lab work that confirms the patient’s condition. It is within their scope to formulate care plans and manage acute illnesses independently; they also prescribe and carry out minor surgeries to patients effectively. An advanced family nurse practitioner (AFNP) also liaises with other healthcare team members in the management of the patient through good documentation and record keeping. More so, they prevent and promote health in their community by advocating for the patient’s rights and promoting health through patient education and counseling services. Advanced family nurse practitioners are key health stakeholders and, therefore, collaborate and coordinate with other healthcare actors to provide continuous and holistic patient care.

In summary, the scope of an advanced family nurse practitioner cuts across the provision of clinical services, carrying out procedures, providing patient education and counseling, collaboration with other healthcare providers, participating in legal and ethical practices, documentation and record keeping, conducting community and public health assessments and diagnosis, and ensuring continuous education and certification of the junior family nurse practitioners (Dantas et al., 2023). Having shared a common residence, the scope of practice has no notable differences.

Professional Organizations Available for Membership

Florida has several professional organizations available for membership for advanced family nurse practitioners, including the FNPN, FNA, FLANP, AANP, and ANA. To begin with, the Florida Nurse Practitioner Network (FNPN) enhances the nurses’ role in the state. Secondly, the Florida Nurses Association (FNA) advocates for their rights and continues to provide nurse education updates as they market their chances of employment in different states. Thirdly, the Florida Association of Practitioners (FLANP) plays a lead role in improving the working nurse’s environments at both state and federal levels. Lastly, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the American Nurses Association are at the American National level playing a pivotal role in advocating for the nurse’s needs and interests.

Moreover, advanced nurse practitioners highly value multidisciplinary collaboration and, therefore, might benefit from joining other specialty groups such as the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), which supports family physicians and benefits the patient through coordinated care yielded by the collaboration of the healthcare professionals. Family nurse practitioners may join the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. Also, family nurse practitioners may join other regional local organizations in order to facilitate health networks in their local regions. Lastly, due to the technological advancing trends, an FNP may join the global village through online and virtual communities and forums where they interact with other family nurse practitioners and share resources such as information.

Competencies and Requirements for One to Become a Family Nurse Practitioner

To provide high-quality and evidenced-based practice that suits the members of the public, one has to have appropriate skills, abilities, and knowledge to achieve patient satisfaction and provide effective care. These form the basis for the required competencies and specific certifications. The competencies are grouped into various categories, such as the educational competencies, where one must be a master’s holder from an institution whose curriculum has been approved by the responsible bodies. The second requirement is certification at the national level and certification from the certification exam. Another requirement is licensure by the licensing body to be either a registered nurse or an advanced practice registered nurse. Other competencies required are the clinical competencies that show the individual’s capabilities to perform their services since they have the skills required to manage different patients and meet their health needs. As a family nurse practitioner, one has to display competency through the possession and application of professional competencies such as ethical practices, communication skills, and collaboration skills. Lastly, the advanced family nurse practitioner should have specialized competencies that make them unique and adapt to the current trends in health. For instance, they need to be technologically proficient to adopt the technological advancements in their practice and be specialized in dealing with special populations such as older adults, pediatrics, and the terminally ill. Also, they should have specialized skills in advocacy and leadership.

References

Dantas, M., Pereira, I., Luana Souza Freitas, Karine, S., Sonenberg, A., & Katherinne, I. (2023). Family nurse practitioners: An exploratory study. Revista Da Escola de Enfermagem Da USP, 57. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-220x-reeusp-2022-0362en

Toney-Butler, T. J., & Martin, R. L. (2023, January 2). Florida nursing laws and rules. Nih.gov; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532859/

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This week we will be reporting on the interview with your APN. Along with the interview, you will be investigating the Board of Nursing’s scope of practice and national certification requirements.
Identify the APN you interviewed and summarize the interview, which may include (if not in the interview, please address):

Exploring the Role of Advanced Practice Nurses – Interview Insights and Scope of Practice Analysis

• Describe the organization and setting, population, and colleagues where your interviewee works.
Examine regulatory and legal requirements for the state in which you plan to practice/work (and where your interviewee resides, if different).
• Examine the Scope of Practice for your state of practice and that of your interviewee, if different
• Describe the professional organizations available for membership based on your selected role.
Identify required competencies, including certification requirements for your selected role and that of your interviewee.
Submission Details:
• This will be a 2-4 page paper (excluding the title page and references).
• Literature support is encouraged and points are assigned.
• Peer-reviewed articles that are non-research and nursing organization websites may be used. All articles must be current (not more than five years old, unless it is a hallmark reference; e.g., Institute of Medicine (IOM) (2010). The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. • Format your paper, citations, and references using the correct APA Style.
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