Nurse Practitioner

By: Marco Simental

What is a Nurse Practitioner

According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners they are defined
as advanced registered nurses, that need to obtain their masters.
They are allowed to practice medicine without the supervision of a doctor
They diagnose medical problems, order treatments, perform complicated
procedure
they work in hospitals, private practices, clinics
income usually varies depending in what state they work but in average they
make 99,326

History Of Nurse Practitioners

In the 1950s Physicians started mentoring and collaborating with nurses. In
1965 there was a shortage of doctors which lead to nurses having to step it
up and provide advanced care for patients.
The first nurse practitioner program was first founded in 1965 by Loretta Ford
and Henry Silver whom both were a nurse and doctor.
The program focused on health promotion, disease prevention and the health of
families and children.
According to Ford, society was demanding for expansion of primary care
services and the expectation of nurses potential to meet the needs were the
major creation of nurse practitioners.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/464663_2

How Members Of Society Perceive Nurse Practitioners

It is a very well looked upon institution that is highly respected by society.
Although nurse practitioners are well respected they can also not be trusted by
certain members of society who prefer to be seen by a doctor.
Due to the fact that nurse practitioners make patients feel better and most of the
time cure their illnesses they are often viewed as heros.

How Do Nurse Practitioners Perceive

Itself

Nurse practitioners can see one another as competition towards one another.
One might feel like theyre smarter than the other and are capable of
providing better care
They can also be seen as each others best friends due to helping one another if
they are ever concerned of something that needs to be solved.
http://www.howtobecomeanursepractitioner.net/challenges-nurse-practitionersface

How Has The Institution Changed Over Time

Nurse practitioners are in high demand now and they will continue to be in the
future.
Back in the 1965 it was undemanded to do a lot of education, simply attending a
NP was required. Now its mandatory to have a master to be a NP and
sometimes a Doctorates must be required.
The pay for nurse practitioners has increased until this day, making them one of
the highest paying nurses.
http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/nhhc/Pages/Nurse-Practitioners.aspx

Things That Have Not Changed In The Institution

Nurse Practitioners still keep on providing primary health care for patients
because thats their priority just as it was for NPs in the 1965.
Other professions in the hospitals still continue to have some jealousy towards
them. For example, nurses, physicians, Physicians assistant , NP themselves
NP still continue to save lives just as they did when the NP first started.
http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodi
cals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-19-2014/No2-May-2014/Barriers-to-NPPractice.html

Functionalist Theory
Everything is balanced and equal so everything could work out fine
People are sick and Nurse Practitioners are able to play a big role so people
dont die from the Illness or lack of medical attention.
If NP or any other medical professionals didnt exist wed have people constantly
dying.
This would lead to other important people in our community that we depend on
become very limited such as police officers, doctors, and family members.
The more patients nurse practitioners can cure themselves them more help
physicians can offer to more severe patient cases.

Conflict Theory
Inconsistency and problematic are made to trigger some changes in society.
Some patients dont trust Nurse Practitioners because they feel like they arent
experienced enough like Physicians.
The more patients a doctor has to provide medical attention to, the more time
critical patients have to wait until being seen. Longer waiting time can mean
that some patients can possibly end up dying for lack of immediate attention.

Nothing To Change For NP Institution

I would not change anything from the institution because Nurse Practitioners do
everything in their power to save lives in the best way possible.
People should consider on being a nurse practitioner because you get the
opportunity to make a change in someones live and if youre into money, this
career pays extremely well.

References
"Medscape Log In." Medscape Log In. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.
"Nurse Practitioners: Shaping the Future of Health Care." Nurse Practitioners: Shaping the Future of Health Care. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb.
2016.
Klemenc-Ketis, Zalika, et al. "New Tool For Patient Evaluation Of Nurse Practitioner In Primary Care Settings." Journal Of Clinical Nursing 23.9/10 (2014): 13231331. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.

"5 Reasons to Become a Nurse Practitioner." NursingLink. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.
"Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016