Any registered nurse who is able to complete an advanced education in nursing, normally a master's degree, and has trained in the fields of medical diagnosis and management is qualified to become a nurse practitioner. Nurse practitioners are medical professionals that can provide basic health care services like those performed by physicians. But how did the nurse practitioner profession come to be and what were the challenges along the way?
It was during the 1960s when a nurse educator, Dr. Loretta Ford, and Dr. Henry Silver started an education program for nurses at the University of Colorado. It was in response to the need of health staff in rural locations. The new program was initially developed in the field of pediatrics with the nursing model as its basis. This would be was one of the first nursing practitioner programs established and the late 1960s ushered the first graduates of the program.
Because the concept of a nurse practitioner was radical at the time, it did not sit well with others in the nursing education community. Many expressed their apprehension to the relatively new educational process. They argued that any nursing education program that trained nurses to become an extension of a physician conflicted with the general health care orientation of nurses. The apprehension eventually ended when there was growth in the number of nurse practitioners and the training and academic programs became formalized.
Interesting enough, it was only in the year 2000 that nurse practitioners could legally practice their profession in each state as well as in District of Columbia. However, the scope of their practice still varies according to the state. Various state nursing boards and government agencies regulate the practice of nurse practitioners.
Different regulations are set in terms of the legal relationship with physicians, direct reimbursement as well as their prescriptive authority. In almost all states as well as in District of Columbia, nurse practitioners hold prescriptive authority. Some state permit nurse practitioners to prescribe legend medicines only while others can issue controlled substances to patients.
There are a lot of nurse practitioners today that seek autonomy in their profession. They cite formal collaboration with physicians as their main form of cooperation with doctors. Yet, there are some states that view physician supervision as a common method of practice.
Currently, there are over 320 medical institutions that are offer master's or post-master's program for nurse practitioners. These programs are duly accredited by the Collegiate Nursing Education Commission, National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health (for nurse practitioner programs relating to women's health), and the Accrediting Commission of National League of Nursing. In 2000, 72 percent of those who graduated entered the pediatric, adult, and family nursing fields. This suggests that primary care remains the ultimate focus of most nurse practitioners.
Today, there are an estimated 95,000 nurse practitioners working in the United States, a big increase from a mere 28,000 during 1992. This represents an increase of 240 percent or more in a span of 8 years. Will the demand for nurse practitioners continue to rise? Nothing is for sure. However, as long as the nursing practitioner programs continue to evolve, there will be more nurses who will be interested with the profession.
For more information on the profession, such as nurse practitioner salary, jobs and programs, visit http://www.beanursepractitioner.com There you can also read an article on nurse practitioner job requirements.
