The Growing Need for Nurse Practitioners Especially in a Rural Area

Primary care is vital to our healthcare system. Having access to primary care can lower mortality rates by providing preventative care. Currently, there is an increased demand for primary care providers, especially in rural and underserved areas. Many physicians are choosing to become specialists rather than internists or family physicians. The growing need for primary care providers has therefore opened the doors for nurse practitioners to come in and fill the void.

Nurse practitioners are on the rise, now assuming their roles as advanced practice nurses to use their skills to provide preventative care to their patients.

Nurse practitioners offer high-quality, patient-centered care at a low cost, which is crucial amidst rising healthcare costs. With an increasing need for more nurse practitioners to shoulder primary care, we must ensure a low turnover rate. The transition from registered nurse to nurse practitioner can be fraught with a wide array of emotions such as stress, anxiety, and feelings of incompetence. This can be overwhelming and exhausting, presenting a complete reality shock. The first year of practice as a nurse practitioner can be a very turbulent time. During this time, the recently licensed nurse practitioner is adjusting to changing roles, responsibilities, and levels of knowledge.

A nurse practitioner must learn their scope of practice because it is much different from that of a registered nurse. For example, a registered nurse may implement a plan of care, but it is the nurse practitioner who creates the plan of care. I agree with the participants in this research study who felt that their past registered nurse clinical experiences, knowledge, and skills were helpful when becoming a nurse practitioner. The knowledge we learned as registered nurses forms the basis of our medical knowledge. Upon entering nurse practitioner school, we build on that knowledge and are trained to provide direct patient care by learning how to diagnose, treat, refer, prescribe, educate, order tests, interpret test results, and so on. The medical field is constantly evolving, and new research comes out every day.

I agree with the article, which states that the participants felt ongoing learning is vital in providing safe patient care. New medications and treatments may emerge, and it is our responsibility as medical providers to stay up-to-date to deliver the best care that we can to our patients. For a positive transition from registered nurse to nurse practitioner, a supportive environment and a residency program with a structured orientation are necessary. Without support, the new nurse practitioner can easily become overwhelmed and stressed out. When you are first starting out as a nurse practitioner, it can be a very scary feeling. You may not feel confident in diagnosing or treating a patient, and might look to your coworkers for assistance and advice. Working as a team is very important in the medical field.

I agree with the research article and think every new nurse practitioner should be assigned a mentor to guide them in their new role. New nurse practitioners will develop stronger clinical skills from their mentors. Having a mentor and role model to look up to can make the transition smoother and help the nurse practitioner acclimate to their new work environment more quickly. A positive transition can also increase the retention rate. Rural areas should take this study into consideration. They need primary care providers the most and having a residency program and a mentor assigned to new nurse practitioners can draw more new practitioners into the rural community. Working in a rural area can be very rewarding. It often has a strong sense of community.

I personally have never worked in a rural area, but according to this research article, nurse practitioners working in rural areas felt very respected and trusted as medical providers. Knowing that your patients trust you with their healthcare gives a nice feeling and can boost your confidence. I think patients in urban areas can still be somewhat skeptical about nurse practitioners or physician assistants providing care, to the point where they might specifically request to be seen by a physician instead of a nurse practitioner. Another great aspect of working in a rural setting is the autonomy nurse practitioners have. Having the independence to work within your scope of practice is excellent, especially when you reach a point where you feel comfortable diagnosing and treating patients.

The only downside to this is that higher demands can possibly cause burnout. The increased workload and emotional demands that nurse practitioners face on a daily basis can cause stress and eventually burnout, negatively impacting the new practitioner. You should not allow yourself to get run down by overworking, resulting in fatigue, burnout, and potential injuries. If you are overworked and fatigued, there is likely to be an increase in mistakes and medical errors. I believe further research can be done to build upon this study. A more expansive study should be conducted with a more diverse population. The previous study was quite small and mostly consisted of women.

A larger study should be done to see if the results stay the same among a bigger, more diverse group of nurse practitioners. Rural facilities should take this study into consideration so that they can increase nurse practitioner recruitment in rural areas, as well as make a smoother transition for new nurse practitioners. This will increase nurse practitioner retention and job satisfaction. Having more nurse practitioners available in these rural settings will help decrease mortality rates and health disparities in these areas, giving these patients the healthcare they need and deserve.

Did you like this example?

424

22