Advance Practice Nurses (APN)

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).