Nurse Practitioner

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.

O*NET reports this occupation under titles such as: ACNP (Acute Care Nurse Practitioner); Adult Nurse Practitioner; Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN); ARNP Specialist (Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner Specialist); Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP); Family Practice Certified Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner; Gastroenterology Nurse Practitioner; Nurse Practitioner (NP); Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP); Women's Health Care Nurse Practitioner

Tasks

• Maintain complete and detailed records of patients' health care plans and prognoses.
• Develop treatment plans, based on scientific rationale, standards of care, and professional practice guidelines.
• Provide patients with information needed to promote health, reduce risk factors, or prevent disease or disability.
• Analyze and interpret patients' histories, symptoms, physical findings, or diagnostic information to develop appropriate diagnoses.
• Diagnose or treat complex, unstable, comorbid, episodic, or emergency conditions in collaboration with other health care providers as necessary.
• Prescribe medication dosages, routes, and frequencies, based on such patient characteristics as age and gender.
• Diagnose or treat chronic health care problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
• Prescribe medications based on efficacy, safety, and cost as legally authorized.
• Recommend diagnostic or therapeutic interventions with attention to safety, cost, invasiveness, simplicity, acceptability, adherence, and efficacy.
• Detect and respond to adverse drug reactions, with special attention to vulnerable populations such as infants, children, pregnant and lactating women, or older adults.
• Diagnose or treat acute health care problems, such as illnesses, infections, or injuries.
• Counsel patients about drug regimens and possible side effects or interactions with other substances, such as food supplements, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, or herbal remedies.
• Order, perform, or interpret the results of diagnostic tests, such as complete blood counts (CBCs), electrocardiograms (EKGs), and radiographs (x-rays).
• Educate patients about self-management of acute or chronic illnesses, tailoring instructions to patients' individual circumstances.
• Maintain current knowledge of state legal regulations for nurse practitioner practice, including reimbursement of services.

Knowledge

• Medicine and Dentistry
• English Language
• Biology
• Psychology
• Customer and Personal Service
• Therapy and Counseling
• Education and Training
• Mathematics
• Sociology and Anthropology
• Chemistry
• Administration and Management
• Computers and Electronics
• Public Safety and Security
• Law and Government
• Communications and Media

Skills

• Reading Comprehension
• Active Listening
• Critical Thinking
• Writing
• Speaking
• Active Learning
• Monitoring
• Science
• Learning Strategies
• Mathematics

Abilities

• Written Comprehension
• Problem Sensitivity
• Inductive Reasoning
• Oral Expression
• Written Expression
• Deductive Reasoning
• Near Vision
• Oral Comprehension
• Information Ordering
• Speech Recognition
• Speech Clarity
• Category Flexibility
• Fluency of Ideas
• Flexibility of Closure
• Speed of Closure
• Originality
• Number Facility
• Memorization
• Perceptual Speed
• Selective Attention
• Time Sharing
• Far Vision
• Visual Color Discrimination