As National Nurse
Practitioner Week comes to a close, it is important to note the critical role nurse practitioners play in providing quality, access and affordability in primary, acute and
specialty care.
Recently implemented
health care policy will result in a primary care provider shortage due to an
increase in the number of insured patients. The Institute of Medicine cites
ballooning demands on the health care system as the population ages and as more
people have health insurance under the 2010 Affordable Care Act. The American
Association of Medical Colleges has estimated that the United States will be
short some 45,000 primary care physicians by 2020. Particularly in rural and
underserved areas, there are just not enough physicians to meet the expected
demand.
One solution to
this problem is to educate people about health care resources that are
available to them, particularly the option of utilizing a nurse practitioner as
their primary care provider. For almost 50 years, these professionals have been
offering their clinical and diagnostic expertise to patients, crafting assessment
and treatment plans and helping patients to implement them. The nurse practitioner focuses not just on a specific health issue, but on the health and
long-term well-being of the whole person. They guide their patients in making
smarter lifestyle choices, order and interpret diagnostic tests, and design
effective treatment programs—including prescribing medications.
At this time,
there are approximately 171,000 active nurse practitioners providing
high-quality care in a variety of settings including clinics, hospitals,
emergency rooms, urgent care sites, private practices and public health
departments. They have earned advanced degrees (the master’s and/or doctoral
degree) and have clinical training beyond that required for initial registered nurse preparation. Studies have shown that patients who use a nurse practitioner as
their primary provider have fewer emergency room visits, shorter hospital
stays, and an extremely high level of satisfaction with their care.
The American
Association of Nurse Practitioners estimates that 14,000 new nurse practitioners enter the health care market annually. At the University of
Pittsburgh School of Nursing, we have preparation programs leading to the nurse practitioner—including the Doctor of Nursing Practice, or DNP—one of several prestigious
educational programs throughout the United States. We hope that these
well-trained professionals will close the gap between number of insured and the
number of providers.
Labels: nurse practitioner, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
