Advance Practice Nursing Philosophy
Advance practice nursing is making major strides in the United States (U.S.), largely because the current shift within our healthcare system. The U.S. demographics our changing rapidly. Society is aging. These changes combined with a decrease number of medical students and a even further decrease in physicians entering family practice causes a deficit in primary care providers within the healthcare system. Advance practice nurses are suitable for the primary care provider role. There has been numerous studies that support the utilization of advance practice nurses.
Advance practice nurses are developers of people. Counseling and teaching is the basis in which they work. Advance practice nurses strength lays in the trust and rapport they can build with patients. Consequently, patient satisfaction with advance practice nurses is high. Advance practice nurses portray many qualities that allow them to provide high quality care, empathy, compassion, good judgment, and professionalism. Advance practice nurses provide a unique style of care due to their past experiences as nurses. They have a caregiving style that differentiates them from other providers. Their care is based on the nursing care model which emphasizes holistic care. They have build on this model with the medical care model. Therefore, in addition to pathophysiology, pathology, and pharmacology, advance practice nurses take into account mental and social factors. Advance practice nurses have a special focus on health promotion and disease prevention. Their values are what make them safe and therapeutically effective. Values that advance practice nurses endorse and believe in are: Caring, advocacy, accountability, accessibility, and collaboration with other health and community professionals. Advance practice nurses also have strong critical thinking, decision making, communication, and patient teaching skill. This combination of leadership and interpersonal skills makes advance practice nurses excellent members of the healthcare team.
Stanley, J. (2005). Advanced Practice Nursing; emphasizing common roles. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company,
