NEWS

Nurse Practitioner Week

 

November 13-19

Did you know?

There are over 355 thousand licensed Nurse Practitioners (NP) in the U.S. alone.

The Nurse Practitioner profession started in 1965 in response to the increasing need for more primary care providers. Since then, there have been approximately 400 NP programs established across the United States, and the profession is expected to grow by 52.2% by 2030. NPs provide a wide range of primary, acute, and specialty care services. From family health to neurological health, NPs are a vital part of our healthcare system. In 2004, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) established Nurse Practitioners Week to celebrate the impact of NPs and to remind lawmakers the importance of removing outdated barriers that prevent NPs from practicing to the full extent of their education.

What makes Nurse Practitioners unique?

Nurse Practitioners bring a unique perspective to our nation’s healthcare system. Similarly to doctors, NPs focus on the health and well-being of the whole person. They guide patients in making smarter health and lifestyle choices.

• Lower Healthcare Costs:
• With their expert knowledge and focus on the patient’s overall well-being, they play a vital role in lowering healthcare costs for patients. Patients with an NP as a primary care provider often have fewer trips to the emergency room and shorter hospital stays.
• Patient Satisfaction:
• More than 1.06 billion visits are made to NPs each year, and patients report a high level of satisfaction.
• Primary Care Shortage Solution:
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, NPs stepped into the roles that were left open due to the primary care shortage facing America.

In addition to the unparalleled service and attention NP’s provide, there’s also variety to what levels of NP opportunities are available. Similar to other fields in medicine, there are several types of practice for NPs; three to be exact:

Take precautions

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1. Full: NPs can prescribe, diagnose, and treat patients without physician oversight. They can also own and operate their own practices.

2. Reduced: NPs can diagnose and treat patients but need a physician to prescribe medications.

3. Restricted: NPs need physician oversight to prescribe, diagnose, and treat patients.

Currently, only 22 states have “full practice” status for NPs. NPs can work in any area of healthcare, but the most popular are family, pediatrics, women’s health, adult-geriatrics, neonatal, and psychiatric mental health.

Common questions about Nurse Practitioners.

Question: Are Nurse Practitioners less qualified than Doctors?
Answer: NPs receive different training than medical doctors, but they’re still classified as primary care providers. Most NPs work under the supervision of medical doctors.

Question: Do Doctors have more training than Nurse Practitioners?
Answer: Doctors and NPs have different teaching models. Doctors are taught to assess, diagnose, and treat patients under a medical model. Whereas NPs are taught under a nursing model to accomplish the same tasks but with a focus on treating the whole patient, not just the symptoms. NPs have a stronger focus on preventative care.

Question: Do Doctors provide better care than Nurse Practitioners?
Answer: The quality of care depends mostly on the relationship between the provider and the patient, not their level of education. Patients are more communicative when there is a great relationship, meaning the provider is more equipped to manage any health concerns. Research finds that there are very few differences in the care that NPs provide vs. doctors.

Nurse Practitioners are one of Healthcare’s unsung heroes. Method has firsthand experience with how Nurse Practitioners can make a difference in someone's life. So please join us in celebrating all of their hard work.

For more information on how we can help get your injured workers the care they deserve to get back on the job, emailclaims@methodinsurance.com