Moving On From Licensed Practical Nurse To Nurse Practitioner

Being a Nurse Practitioner means that you were a registered nurse. It means that you have achieved more and greater training and education to become a specialist in a specific area of nursing. If right now you are a LPN who is trying to become a NP then youll have to go through four steps. Step number one for becoming a NP is getting a bachelors degree in nursing, step number two is using that degree to become a RN, the third step is getting a Masters degree in nursing or a Doctoral degree in nursing proving that you have achieved a graduate level education.

When you have gotten through these three steps throughout the years, the fourth and last step is then to pass the National Board Certification in the specialty you have chosen to practice in. A practitioner has a certain scope of practice that they can work in. Practitioners have the ability to diagnose patients, and they have the privilege of being able to prescribe medications much like a medical doctor. There are many states that have rule and regulations that they have to follow to be able to practice.

For example, some states regulate that a Nurse Practitioner absolutely must work with physician or they cant work at all, and there are other states that allow a practitioner to work independently in their own practice. The pharmaceutical medications and treatments that a practitioner can give patients will often cost less than those given to them by a physician. The duties and responsibilities of a practitioner are very serious within the health care industry.

They have to look up and chart a patients medical history, they are given the duty of diagnosing, treating and managing the infections that afflict a patient, they have the ability to treat injuries and illnesses, they can write prescriptions, they can give physical exams to patients, they have the knowledge and no how to be able to order, perform and interpret laboratory procedures and tests. Practitioners can educate patients on how to stay healthy and they can educate aspiring practitioners as their professors, and they can give treatment to patients who are being rehabilitated such as physical therapy.

A Nurse Practitioner can work in many different places of the health care industry. They work in hospitals, and clinics. Clinics like walk in clinics, school or college clinics and even health care centers. Being a practitioner is a rewarding and fulfilling job.