A Nurse Practitioner's View

5 Ways to Make Your Life as a Nurse Easier It’s a profession that most people find daunting and challenging, which is why they choose to give it a miss. Not everyone is cut out to be a nurse because it involves long hours, grueling work, and a fair amount of emotional stress. But on the plus side, it’s a calling that warms your heart and makes you a better person. You see so much suffering and pain that you’re grateful for the healthy life that you and your family have, and you develop your kinder side because of your interaction with your patients. Even so, it’s a stressful job, and if you don’t make the effort to make your life easier, you’re likely to burn out. So here they are, a few tips on how you can make your life as a nurse easier and more relaxing: · Leave the office behind when you go home: As a nurse, you see so much going on in hospitals and in the lives of patients. You’re busy running around tending to them and taking orders from and following th...

The big news this week in the world of nurse practitioners and health care was the release of the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Report, " The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health ." It's a logical read and echos what NPs, patients, and some other professions have been saying for years: let NPs do the work they are already educated and trained to do without arbitrary and archaic state and/or federal barriers. This is not a "scope of practice" issue, it is allowing us to practice to the full extent of our education. For example, when I reflect back on my NP education, there was no course entitled, "How to sort of take care of chronic conditions but when you get in over your head, make sure you have your collaborating physician's number on speed dial." We were taught to function as primary care providers that included acquiring the knowledge base to evaluate, diagnose and treat our patients and their conditions using the skill sets ...

I recently ordered an ECG along with routine blood work for a patient who needed a pre-op workup. I received the ECG results today with the interpretation by the cardiologist. I thought it was funny and sad that he felt the need to cross out the default "Dr." preceding my name on the report. Of course, I am not a "doctor" as in physician, nor do I ever purport to be. I will soon have my doctorate in nursing practice (7 months to go!) but that will have no impact on how I interact with my patients or colleagues. I wish reports, and even prescription bottles for that matter, correctly referred to the credentials of the ordering clinician. Our patients should be able to identify their clinician without further confusion. But until then, I guess providers will self enforce who gets to be called "Dr." I can't help but to imagine a rogue pharmacist crossing out the "Dr." on every prescription label for prescriptions that are written by non-physicia...