By: Karen P
Submitted: 2010-02-03 17:32:27 | Word Count: 515
While there are a variety of career paths available for anyone pursuing a degree in nursing, there are few nursing jobs more challenging than that of the acute care nurse practitioner. ACNPs are responsible for taking care of the treatment needs of patients seeking treatment in emergency rooms, or convalescing in intensive care wards. These acute care nursing professionals work in some of the most fast paced health care environments and do so with grace and compassion. And as the nation s reliance on emergency room visits continues to grow, it is anticipated that the need for ACNPs will rise as well.
In addition to emergency rooms and critical care treatment facilities, some of the specific environments in which acute care nursing practitioners provide their services include operating rooms, private doctors offices, and clinics for walk in patients. ACNPs are trained to provide treatment for patients recovering from severe injuries and conditions such as cardiac arrest and shock. Often times, the patients are recovering from surgical procedures and require extensive monitoring as well as continuing therapy.
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Becoming an acute care nursing practitioner requires not only a nursing degree and a registered nursing license, but additional education to obtain a degree in advanced nursing. APNs, or Advanced Practice Nurses, have training as a doctoral or master s level that allows them to provide diagnostic and treatment services that are usually restricted to licensed physicians. The required Master of Science degree encompasses two years of nursing education, as well as clinical work amounting to several hundred hours. In addition, all acute care nurses must be certified by their state s Nursing Board or must obtain equivalent certification from a national association.
The large number of uninsured Americans has led to dramatic increases in the use of hospital emergency rooms in recent years. As a result, the demand for acute care nursing professionals has risen as well in large measure due to the fact that they can provide many of the same services that doctors do, and for a fraction of the cost. That demand is expected to grow over the coming decades, as endemic structural deficiencies in the United States health care system are unlikely to be addressed any time soon.
The median salary for a nurse working as an acute care nursing practitioner is in excess of $80,000 per year, with those serving in emergency rooms earning even more. Because they earn an average of $20,000 more than registered nurses, more and more RNS are increasing their skill levels to pursue a career in this field of nursing. As a result, the Labor Bureau is anticipating a steady increase in the number of ACNPs over the next ten years.
Nursing is an incredibly rewarding career for those who choose it, and working with acute care patients is one of the most rewarding choices any nurse can make. Given that the job combines the best features of other specialized forms of nursing with a high level of self determination and responsibility, it is no wonder that so many registered nurses are moving toward careers as acute care nursing practitioners.
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