Personal Mission Statement
I am looking to work as a family nurse practitioner (FNP). I plan to provide culturally competent, compassionate, and holistic care in a timely fashion based on education, health promotion, and primary prevention that meets and exceeds the demands of a patient population that is varied in age and socioeconomic background.
Role of the FNP
The FNP is responsible for providing safe, cost-effective care in the primary care setting (Bupert, 2008). According to Reel and Abraham, (2007), NPs provide nursing and medical care to individuals, families and groups. NPs in the state of Arizona practice autonomously. FNPs are responsible for management and diagnosis of chronic and acute illnesses with education, health promotion, and disease prevention at the focus of care provided (AANP, 2005).
The employment sought according to the author of the mission statement above is in an outpatient primary practice clinic that is well established in the community that offers a variety of services to patients. The level of supervision preferred is minimal, but advisory aide would be provided on an as needed basis. As such, a more experienced physician or NP would be available within the practice to consult for guidance with diagnoses or treatments as needed, which is especially helpful for the new NP. Further, the FNP is licensed and certified to work with a variety of age groups to serve as a patient advocate in an interdisciplinary consultant role (Reel & Abraham, 2007).
Since the inception of the role of the nurse practitioner (NP), many new areas of practice have developed over time within the health care system’s evolving health care delivery model. NPs are employed in many different settings and specialties. Historically, NPs are most commonly employed in primary practice settings and work as family nurse practitioners (FNP)s, representing 41-percent of current NPs (AANP, 2004). In the past, NPs filled the niche working in rural settings to augment the lower numbers of physicians practicing primary care in these locales (Jarrett & Emmett, 2009). In current times, NPs have gained accolades from patients and other clinicians by providing cost-effective care from a holistic approach (Jarrett & Emmett, 2009). As needs presented themselves and the lack of primary care for the uninsured became a pressing issue, the country’s fastest increasing population of primary care providers are NPs (most often FNPs) working in nurse-managed health clinics (Barker, 2009). These FNPs provide cost-effective, quality care to patients regardless of their ability to pay (Barker, 2009). These clinics are positioned well to fill the provider void that has been well documented by the shortage of primary care physicians (Barker, 2009).
References
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). (2005). Nurse practitioner timeline. Retrieved from http://www.aanp.org/NR/rdonlyres/C640C1BB-755C-4A37-AD456A22DEF9E37B/0/DecadePosters5.pdf
Barker, A. M. (2009). Advanced Practice Nursing (8th ed.). Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers..
Jarrett, L., & Emmett, M. (2009). Utilizing trauma nurse practitioners to decrease length of stay. Journal of Trauma Nursing 16(2). 68-72. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?hid=105&sid=0fbeed9-4163-4dc1-a61f-b7396e6a0394%40sessionmgr104&vid=7
Reel, S., & Abraham, I. (2007). Business and legal essentials for nurse practitioners. St Louis: Mosby.