I have been working as a neuro-intensive care unit registered nurse for one year at St. Luke’s Medical Center. The experience of working as a registered nurse in the neuro-intensive care unit has been an amazing opportunity to discover my interests in healthcare, build my skills as a nurse, and help determine what area of healthcare I am interested in working in as an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP). I have learned to love caring for patients in the intensive care unit, especially geriatric patients. Intensive care units are trying times for patients and families, and it is such a rewarding experience to be able to assist and support them during their moments of need. I have built amazing relationships with families
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For forty-five years, the role of the acute care nurse practitioner has evolved from working in the neonatal intensive care unit to working for people of all ages and across the many specialties of acute healthcare, including the adult-gerontology intensive care unit (Haut & Madden, 2015). The need for nurse practitioners has increased as healthcare has evolved including “pressures from managed health care organizations to reduce inpatient length of stay, increases in patient acuity, and the overall need for cost containment” (Rosenthal & Guerrasio, 2010, pg. 21). Acute care roles as a nurse practitioner include emergency medicine, neurology, and intensive care units (Rosenthal & Guerrasio, 2010). My career goals include continuing the advancements the role of the AGACNP has made over the last forty-five years, and work in the intensive care …show more content…
A lot of these skills I have begun working on as a registered nurse, and many skills I will acquire as my education as an AGACNP continues. Rosenthal & Guerrasio mentions skills such as obtaining histories and physicals, ordering tests that are necessary for patient diagnosis, and creating plans to care for patients (2010). Performing physical examinations is something I do on a regular basis as a registered nurse, but obtaining histories, ordering tests, and leading the plan of care are all skills that I will need to learn and practice in order to be a successful AGACNP in the intensive care unit. The scope and standards of practice additionally suggest that AGACNPs should be skilled in “initiating health promotion, collaborating and communicating with members of the healthcare team” (Bell, 2012, pg. 6). Many of these skills require communication, leadership, and knowledge. As a registered nurse, I have been able to effectively communicate with patients, families, and members of the healthcare team including physicians, nurse practitioners, and therapists. Registered nurses in the intensive care unit have much more autonomy than many other registered nursing positions, including titrating medications and equipment as needed. These types of autonomous decisions have helped build leadership characteristics that
For forty-five years, the role of the acute care nurse practitioner has evolved from working in the neonatal intensive care unit to working for people of all ages and across the many specialties of acute healthcare, including the adult-gerontology intensive care unit (Haut & Madden, 2015). The need for nurse practitioners has increased as healthcare has evolved including “pressures from managed health care organizations to reduce inpatient length of stay, increases in patient acuity, and the overall need for cost containment” (Rosenthal & Guerrasio, 2010, pg. 21). Acute care roles as a nurse practitioner include emergency medicine, neurology, and intensive care units (Rosenthal & Guerrasio, 2010). My career goals include continuing the advancements the role of the AGACNP has made over the last forty-five years, and work in the intensive care …show more content…
A lot of these skills I have begun working on as a registered nurse, and many skills I will acquire as my education as an AGACNP continues. Rosenthal & Guerrasio mentions skills such as obtaining histories and physicals, ordering tests that are necessary for patient diagnosis, and creating plans to care for patients (2010). Performing physical examinations is something I do on a regular basis as a registered nurse, but obtaining histories, ordering tests, and leading the plan of care are all skills that I will need to learn and practice in order to be a successful AGACNP in the intensive care unit. The scope and standards of practice additionally suggest that AGACNPs should be skilled in “initiating health promotion, collaborating and communicating with members of the healthcare team” (Bell, 2012, pg. 6). Many of these skills require communication, leadership, and knowledge. As a registered nurse, I have been able to effectively communicate with patients, families, and members of the healthcare team including physicians, nurse practitioners, and therapists. Registered nurses in the intensive care unit have much more autonomy than many other registered nursing positions, including titrating medications and equipment as needed. These types of autonomous decisions have helped build leadership characteristics that