Job Description, Daily Responsibilities, and Work Life
Nurse Practitioners
Nurse Practitioners 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.
Table of Contents
Job Description
Nurse Practitioners 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. They also analyze and interpret patients’ histories, symptoms, physical findings, or diagnostic information to develop appropriate diagnoses.
Other tasks include:
- Diagnose or treat acute health care problems, such as illnesses, infections, or injuries.
- Recommend diagnostic or therapeutic interventions with attention to safety, cost, invasiveness, simplicity, acceptability, adherence, and efficacy.
- Prescribe medications based on efficacy, safety, and cost as legally authorized.
- Educate patients about self-management of acute or chronic illnesses, tailoring instructions to patients’ individual circumstances.
- Prescribe medication dosages, routes, and frequencies, based on such patient characteristics as age and gender.
- Order, perform, or interpret the results of diagnostic tests, such as complete blood counts (CBCs), electrocardiograms (EKGs), and radiographs (x-rays).
We asked Nurse Practitioners how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.
74%
82%
74% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 82% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.
Typical Day At Work
On a daily basis, Nurse Practitioners maintain complete and detailed records of patients’ health care plans and prognoses. They analyze and interpret patients’ histories, symptoms, physical findings, or diagnostic information to develop appropriate diagnoses.
A typical day for a Nurse Practitioner will also include:
- Prescribe medications based on efficacy, safety, and cost as legally authorized.
- Diagnose or treat acute health care problems, such as illnesses, infections, or injuries.
- Recommend diagnostic or therapeutic interventions with attention to safety, cost, invasiveness, simplicity, acceptability, adherence, and efficacy.
- Educate patients about self-management of acute or chronic illnesses, tailoring instructions to patients’ individual circumstances.
- Provide patients with information needed to promote health, reduce risk factors, or prevent disease or disability.
We asked some Nurse Practitioners a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.
Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job? | 90% said yes | |
How important is it to work in a team in this job? | 61% said very important | |
Do you have group discussions everyday in this job? | 86% said yes | |
Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job? | 41% said yes | |
Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job? | 14% said yes | |
Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job? | 76% said yes |
Other responsibilities
Besides their typical day, Nurse Practitioners also consult with, or refer patients to, appropriate specialists when conditions exceed the scope of practice or expertise. They may also maintain current knowledge of state legal regulations for nurse practitioner practice, including reimbursement of services.
On a weekly to monthly basis, Nurse Practitioners Perform primary care procedures such as suturing, splinting, administering immunizations, taking cultures, and debriding wounds. They might also Keep abreast of regulatory processes and payer systems, such as Medicare, Medicaid, managed care, and private sources.
In addition, they Provide patients or caregivers with assistance in locating health care resources.
Although specific duties may vary, many of them Advocate for accessible health care that minimizes environmental health risks.
To some Nurse Practitioners, it is also their responsibility to Detect and respond to adverse drug reactions, with special attention to vulnerable populations such as infants, children, pregnant and lactating women, or older adults.
Working life
More than 40 hours per week
Regular schedule like a 9 to 5
In a typical work week as a Nurse Practitioner, you can expect to work more than 40 hours per week.
Is this right for me
The Helpers and The Thinkers
People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others..
They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
You can read more about these career personality types here.
Learn more about Nurse Practitioners
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