- Who are Nurse Practitioners?
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Nurse Practitioners are registered nurses who have completed graduate-level education
courses and demonstrated clinical competency in order to provide primary, acute,
and long-term healthcare services to individuals of all ages ranging from birth
through geriatrics. Most NPs today hold a graduate degree in nursing.
- What can Nurse Practitioners do?
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Nurse Practitioners obtain health histories and provide complete physical examinations;
diagnose and treat common acute and chronic health problems; request and interpret
laboratory results and X-rays; prescribe and manage medications and other therapies;
provide healthcare teaching and supportive patient counseling with an emphasis on
prevention of illness and health maintenance; consult and refer patients to other healthcare
professionals as needed.
- Where do Nurse Practitioners practice?
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Nurse practitioners practice in a variety of specialty areas and settings including
independent NP-managed practices, hospitals, employee health clinics, health maintenance
organizations, home healthcare agencies, long term care facilities, prisons and
correctional institutions, physician-managed practices, psychiatric facilities,
schools,college health services, community health clinics, hospice centers, and
retail clinics.
- How many Nurse Practitioners are currently practicing in Arizona
and what are their specialty areas?
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There are more than 3000 NPs currently practicing throughout the urban and rural
areas of Arizona. Specialty areas include: Family, Adult, Women’s Health, Emergency,
Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Geriatrics, and Acute Care. In addition, Nurse Practitioners
practice in many subspecialty areas including Cardiology, Pulmonary, Immunology,
and Rheumatology, to name a few.
- What organization regulates the actions of Nurse Practitioners in
Arizona?
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In Arizona, Nurse Practitioners are certified nationally and are regulated by the Arizona State Board of Nursing.
- How are Nurse Practitioners educated?
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Nurse Practitioners are highly educated. Nurse Practitioners must hold a registered
nursing (RN) license before beginning their advanced educational programs, and most NPs hold a masters degree.
NPs graduating after 2015 will be required to complete
doctoral degrees, either clinical Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or research oriented
(PhD, DScN et al). There are two programs offering DNPs in Arizona as of 2009.
- When did the Nurse Practitioner role come into existence?
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The Nurse Practitioner role evolved in response to a nationwide shortage of healthcare
services in the mid-1960s. The first NP program was developed as a Master’s degree
curriculum at the University of Colorado’s School of Nursing, co-founded jointly
by a nursing faculty member and a pediatrician. The first program specialties were
in pediatrics; other healthcare specialties were added shortly after as programs
developed across the country to provide primary health care services to large underserved
populations.