What Is a Nurse Practitioner?

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What Is a Nurse Practitioner(NP)?

Hospitals and clinics employ a number of different medical professionals to provide high-quality health care services. Nurse practitioners (also known as NPs) are one of those professionals, who along with PAs (physician associates), provide care at MinuteClinic® locations. But you may be wondering, what exactly is a nurse practitioner and what makes them different from other health care providers?

What defines a nurse practitioner?

A nurse practitioner is a type of nurse. Like other health care providers, they must have a certain level of training, education and experience to do their jobs.

Like physicians, nurse practitioners can also have specialties. They can specialize in children’s health, women’s health and other fields. They can also focus on more specific areas of medicine like cancer and skin disorders.

Nurse practitioners must be licensed in the state where they practice. What someone needs to do to become a nurse practitioner and maintain their license can differ from state to state. However, in most states, obtaining a license begins with the completion of a standard nursing program that all registered nurses go through. Many states also require a master’s degree on top of that. Nurse practitioners may also choose to pursue a doctorate’s degree and become a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). And for any specialty they have, nurse practitioners must have board certification and the training to go with it. Even then, in some states, they must obtain continuing medical education (CME) credits and follow state rules to keep their status as nurse practitioners.

What is the relationship of nurse practitioners and physicians?

Many nurse practitioners have a working relationship with other health care professionals. They may consult them for medical questions when needed. In all states, licensed nurse practitioners can practice and dispense medicine. But in some states, nurse practitioners need to work with a physician to write prescriptions and perform other professional duties.

When should I see a nurse practitioner?

You can go to a nurse practitioner for several health care needs. In fact, nurse practitioners can do many of the things that a primary care physician can do. Their training allows them to:

Administer screenings, physicals and vaccinations
Conduct yearly check-ups
Diagnose and treat skin conditions as well as common injuries and illnesses
Obtain your medical history
Perform and interpret diagnostic and laboratory studies
Perform physical checks and exams
Provide patients with education and recommendations
Write prescriptions

What are the benefits of seeing a nurse practitioner?

Nurse practitioners can save you time. A shortage of physicians in the United States is one of the reasons for longer waits to see a primary care physician. But it can be easier to get an appointment with team-based health care providers such as the nurse practitioners and PAs (physician associates) working at MinuteClinic locations. This means that you could have a shorter wait when you visit a MinuteClinic for your health care needs.

Nurse practitioners can save you money, too. In the United States, people collectively make millions of visits to nurse practitioners every year. And according to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), these professionals can help lower health care costs. Patients who regularly seek primary care services from a nurse practitioner may have fewer visits to the emergency room. And avoiding even one trip to the emergency room can save you a lot of money and worry.