An Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) is a Registered Nurse who has completed additional levels of advanced clinical and educational training. When it comes to APRNs, though there are many different types of nurses under this rather large umbrella term. If you are looking for quality care for an APRN or if you would like to know more about what APRNs do and what areas they practice in, please feel free to give a clinic a call today. If you are looking for in-home APRN care, schedule a consultation today.
What are the four types of APRNs?
- Certified Midwife Nurse. These nurses have specific and specialized training and education to care for women and their babies during pregnancy.
- Certified Nurse Anesthetists. These nurses administer anesthesia during surgery and provide related care after the pregnancy.
- Certified Nurse Practitioner. These nurses generally diagnose and treat patients who have different health and physical concerns. Many of them have different specializations, like geriatrics or pediatrics.
- Clinical Nurse Specialist. These nurses can diagnose illnesses and help treat them depending on their specific specialties.
What kind of education does an APRN need?
When someone is considering becoming an APRN, they must first begin by becoming a Registered Nurse (RN). Education in the RN field will lay the groundwork for different specializations they can pursue as APRNs. A RN must complete some form of two- or four-year nursing degree through an accredited school or through a hospital’s nursing program. Once the degree is completed, they will need to pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses specific to their state. When an RN choose to become an APRN, they must then pursue a master’s degree in nursing as well as conduct training in a clinical specialty.
Do APRNs need certifications?
APRNs typically possess different certifications depending on what their specialty is. For example, if an APRN wants to become a Certified Nurse Anesthetist, he or she would need to pass the certification training for the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist through the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.
Where do APRNs typically work?
When you have completed training as an APRN, you have many different options in terms of where you can work. Some of the most common examples are:
- Operating Rooms
- Hospices
- University Nursing Programs
- In-home Nursing Care
- Outpatient Clinics
- Birthing Centers, and
- Hospitals
What does the day-to-day look like for APRNs?
Because of how varied an APRN’s job is, the daily tasks they conduct may be wholly different from what another APRN does. For example, many APRNs may perform various physical examinations on their patients, they may perform more managerial duties and manage an entire team of nurses, they may order and interpret various laboratory tests, they man help to diagnose and treatments patients with different diseases, and they may even help during medical procedures. Especially when an APRN gets into their specialties, there will be even greater differences with their daily jobs.
If you are interested in getting help from an APRN, have more questions on what APRNs do, or have experienced nursing home abuse, please reach out to a nursing home lawyer today for more information or to set up a consultation.