An Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) is a nurse with a Master’s degree from an accredited university. The APN collaborates with the healthcare team (s) to develop the plan of care. The APN provides a broad range of health care services, which may include some of the following:
- Taking the patient’s medical history, performing physical examinations, ordering laboratory and diagnostic tests and other procedures as necessary.
- Diagnosing, Treating, and Managing diseases
- Ordering medications and writing prescriptions
- Coordinating referrals
- Providing information on disease prevention and healthy lifestyles
- Performing medical procedures as approved by specific training
- Care Coordination of services
- Education for patients, families, caregivers, other staff and the community
- Clinical support to research teams in order to improve and provide best practice.
- Nursing Informatics: integrating nursing science with computer and information science utilizing the knowledge and wisdom of nursing practice to manage and communicate data through technology.
What titles do Advanced Practice Nurses have?
- ADVANCED REGISTERED NURSE PRACTITIONER
- PEDIATRIC NURSE PRACTITIONER
- FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER
- CLINICAL SPECIALISTS
- NURSE EDUCATOR
- CERTIFIED REGISTERED NURSE ANESTHETIST
- NURSE ADMINISTRATOR
- NURSING INFORMATICS
Where do you find Advanced Practice Nurses?
- Hospitals
- Clinics
- Out-patient health centers
- Home health programs
- Teaching in colleges and universities and collaborating
- Research programs
- Governmental agencies
What are the requirements for licensure?
Nurse Practitioners in Florida are required to have board certification through a national nursing organization specializing in adult care, pediatric care, or family health, examples of credentialing organizations are, (American Nurses Credentialing Center, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners).