What is a Nurse Practitioner?
 A nurse practitioner (NP) is an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) who is prepared, through advanced education and clinical training, to provide a wide range of preventive and acute health care services.
In Texas, an NP is now required to have completed graduate-level education (either a Master’s or a Doctoral degree). APN roles include the nurse practitioner (NP), Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). All NPs are Registered Nurses (RNs) who have completed extensive additional education, training, and have a dramatically expanded scope of practice over the traditional RN role.
To become licensed to practice, NPs hold national board certification in an area of specialty (such as family, women's health, pediatrics, adult, acute care, etc.), and are licensed through the state nursing boards rather than medical boards. Therefore, each NP practices under his or her advanced practice license as granted by their state board of nursing.
Nurse Practitioner Requirements
- To be licensed as a Nurse Practitioner, the candidate must first complete the education and training necessary to be a registered nurse, then go on to complete a graduate-level nurse practitioner program (either a Master's or Doctorate degree). Next, the candidate must pass a national board certification in their area of specialty.
- After completing the education program, the candidate must be licensed by the state in which he or she plans to practice. The state boards of nursing regulate nurse practitioners and each state has its own licensing and certification criteria. In general, the criteria include completion of a graduate degree in nursing and board certification by an accrediting body.
- In the United States, nurse practitioners have a national board certification. In the OB-Gyn setting, the nurse practitioner is usually a board certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP-BC). Women’s Health Nurse Practitioners are certified by the National Certification Corporation.
The core philosophy of the Advanced Practice Nurse is individualized care. Nurse practitioners focus on patients' conditions as well as the effects of illness on the lives of the patients and their families. NPs make prevention, wellness, and patient education priorities. Another focus is educating patients about their health and encouraging them to make healthy choices.
In addition to health care services, NPs conduct research and are often active in patient advocacy activities.
Nurse Practitioners treat their patients through comprehensive history taking, physical exams, physical therapy, and ordering tests and therapies for patients within their scope of practice. NPs can serve as a patient's primary health care provider, and see patients of all ages depending on their designated scope of practice.
A Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner’s role may include the following actions, pertaining to females from adolescence through end of life:
- Obtaining medical histories and conducting physical examinations
- Diagnosing, treating, evaluating and managing acute and chronic illness and disease
- Ordering, performing, and interpreting diagnostic studies
- Prescribing physical therapy and other rehabilitation treatments
- Prescribing drugs for acute and chronic illness
- Providing prenatal care and family planning services
- Providing primary and specialty care services, health-maintenance care, including annual physicals, gynecologic exams and Pap smears
- Providing care for patients in acute and critical care settings
- Performing or assisting in minor surgeries and procedures (with additional training, certification, and/or under physician supervision)
- Counseling and educating patients on health behaviors, self-care skills, and treatment options
- Providing education about health risks, illness preventions, and health maintenance
- Case management and coordination of care
At Advanced OB Gyn Associates, the physicians and the nurse practitioner have a collaborative relationship.
The nurse practitioner serves as a physician extender, which means that she can provide many of the same services the physicians provide. This is especially helpful when the physicians have a delivery or surgery to attend, and there are patients with office appointments. So, call and make an appointment with any of our providers. You can feel confident you are receiving optimal care.
Learn More About AOA's Nurse Practitioner, Kathy Abrahamson,
MS, WHNP-BC, RN
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