Nurse practitioner Manju Sharma. Manju Sharma confidently strides into the room, her white coat disappearing behind a draped curtain, and immediately begins asking questions. "How are you?" she asks the patient, who at the moment is reclined in his hospital bed. "Did you sleep all right? Did you go to the bathroom?" After collecting enough information from the patient, Robert Allen, a Barrington resident who had been admitted with chest pain complaints, she comforts him by wishing him good luck and is out the door again and back on her Friday rounds.
"People are liking us more and more," she said. "They have more confidence in us, because they can talk to us." The only thing nurse practitioners can't do is make a diagnosis. But once the doctor decides what to do with a patient, Ms. Sharma takes over.
You wrote: The only thing nurse practitioners can't do is make a diagnosis.
ReplyDeleteActually the above comment is not accurate. I assess, diagnosis and treat patients daily. Like any other provider, I consult with specialists when necessary (examples: when something is outside of my scope of practice or expertise, when I'm unsure, or to get feedback on a complex assessment like I did yesterday with a neurologist).
Scope of practice varies for NP's depending on state regulations. We are pretty much independent in my state, where I own my own practice.
You can get more info on what NP's can do from The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners -www.AANP.org
Thank you for the information, and yes it does vary from state to state, but good to know that nurse practitioners are there for us as we may not always have access to an MD..depending on the situation, etc. which varies.
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