Nurse Practitioners

What Does a Nurse Practitioners Do?

Diagnose and treat acute, episodic, or chronic illness, independently or as part of a healthcare team. May focus on health promotion and disease prevention. May order, perform, or interpret diagnostic tests such as lab work and x rays. May prescribe medication. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

• 1Maintain complete and detailed records of patients' health care plans and prognoses.
• 2Develop treatment plans, based on scientific rationale, standards of care, and professional practice guidelines.
• 3Provide patients with information needed to promote health, reduce risk factors, or prevent disease or disability.
• 4Analyze and interpret patients' histories, symptoms, physical findings, or diagnostic information to develop appropriate diagnoses.
• 5Diagnose or treat complex, unstable, comorbid, episodic, or emergency conditions in collaboration with other health care providers as necessary.
• 6Prescribe medication dosages, routes, and frequencies, based on such patient characteristics as age and gender.
• 7Diagnose or treat chronic health care problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
• 8Prescribe medications based on efficacy, safety, and cost as legally authorized.

Required Skills

• Reading Comprehension
• Critical Thinking
• Active Listening
• Active Learning
• Monitoring
• Writing
• Speaking
• Science
• Learning Strategies
• Allscripts Professional EHR
• Amkai AmkaiCharts
• Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR
• Cerner Millennium
• e-MDs software
• eClinicalWorks EHR software
• Epic Systems
• GE Healthcare Centricity EMR
• Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS
• Medical condition coding software

Nurse Practitioners Salary