Where do nurse practitioners work?

The most typical setting where nurse practitioners work is in a hospital. Sometimes referred to as a hospitalist, the NP is an essential member of the care team composed of doctors, NPs and physician assistants. They may round on patients and admit them from the emergency department to the hospital.

They are involved in the assessment of patients and collaborating on their treatment plan. They talk with the patients and discuss any issues they may be having. They also use tools and equipment to help them collect information about their patients. NPs often work with patients, their family, and supervising doctors to ensure adequate treatment.

An emergency room NP is an advanced NP who is trained to work in acute care and works primarily in the emergency room. The emergency room is an extremely fast-paced setting and they have to be prepared to use their skills efficiently and quickly for a wide range of possible injuries and illnesses for all age groups.

A strong background in critical care is essential to be able to triage and treat all times of emergencies. In a typical day, an emergency room NP can see 20 different patients and be involved in a wide range of procedures like suturing lacerations, draining abscesses, and admitting unstable patients to the hospital.

Like an emergency room NP, an urgent care NP must be prepared to treat patients who need medical care immediately and their primary care physician is unavailable. While an urgent care NP needs to be ready for anything, the patients they are seeing are more stable than those going to the emergency room.

In urgent care, a NP needs to be able to treat and diagnose a variety of illnesses and injuries. It is a great setting to get experience if your goal is to work in an emergency room or critical care setting.

Family nurse practitioners can often be found working in a private medical practice. They treat conditions that are not life threatening while focusing on improvement and disease prevention. They may provide a large scope of services including:

• Patient assessments

• Diagnosis

• Prescription and management of treatment plans

• Prescription of medications

• Care coordination with other healthcare professionals

• Patient and family counseling on healthy living and how to manage illness

A family NP offers patient-centered care and treatment that is tailored to their condition and lifestyle.