The nursing profession has a broad scope of practice, and nurses have opportunities to advance their knowledge and skills in various fields. Increasing knowledge and training facilitate accreditation and licensure for advanced practice. Advanced nursing practice roles provide nurses with several added privileges unavailable to the registered nurses’ roles (Agyepong & Okyere, 2018). An education plan is integral for any nurse to succeed in the advanced practice roles, which are relatively demanding. This essay explores the differences between Advanced Practice Nursing and Advanced Practice Registered Nursing increase and FPN’s focus population, certification, licensure, accreditation, education, and state implications.
Advanced Nursing Practice refers to post-graduate-educated nurses with advanced education and training. APNs include nurses with a doctorate, post-graduate, and master’s training.The ICN refers to Advanced practice nursing as the nursing field that extends the nursing scope of practice boundaries and nursing knowledge and skills and promotes professional development. Advanced practice nurses work as specialists or generalists with master’s and doctorate training (Schober et al., 2020). They are prepared with didactic skills and knowledge and have a broader scope of nursing practice. APN is an informal term to refer to nurses with post-graduate training without mentioning their specialization. APNs in clinical settings have added roles such as team, ward, and institutional leadership and educative roles as preceptors or lecturers in healthcare institutions (Schober et al., 2020).
Advanced Practice Registered Nursing refers to specialized nursing that has met specific requirements for specialized nursing roles. It relates to either of the four APRN roles: nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and clinical nurse specialists (ANA, n.d.). Unlike other advanced practice nurses, APRNS focus on and serve specific populations. They offer their advanced knowledge and skills to these populations. These APRNs can also practice in other areas but as registered nurses, unlike some APN roles. APRNs are all advanced practice nurses, but not all APNs are APRNs (ANA, n.d.). Thus, APRN is a narrower field, with specialized roles, unlike APN, which has a broader scope. The distinction between the two roles dictates the areas these professionals can work in, licensure and certification requirements, and the focus populations. Understanding these differences helps individuals plan their career and professional development.
My APRN role, Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), falls under the nurse practitioner APRN role. Other types of nurse practitioners include Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (Acute or Primary Care), Women’s Health Nurse Practitioners, Neonatal Nurse Practitioners, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners, and others (GraduateNursingEdu.org, n.d). Unlike other roles, family nurse practitioners are general practitioners without a specific population. However, they possess the knowledge for advanced care for all family members of all ages and with all health conditions. FNPs have flexible populations depending on an individual’s interest. FNPs primarily focus on the family, hence their integral role in primary care. FNPs can specialize in any of the functions sub-specialties depending on their interests, job availability, and other factors.
Certification is vital for any nurse to be licensed as a practitioner. Certification and licensing require advanced training and education, thus meeting the requirements of a certain advanced practice role (RegisteredNursing.org, 2022). Certification opportunities are the different ways a trained nurse can obtain a practicing license. There are two certification opportunities in FNP: FNP-C and FNP-BC, with slight variations. The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners offers FNP-C, while the FNP-BC is offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) (RegisteredNursing.org, 2022). There are slight variations in these courses regarding the foci as either in academia or clinical practice. However, the differences are negligible, and nurses certified by the different institutions receive equal treatment relative to their achievements. However, nurses’ preferences differ due to personal interests, prospects, costs, and length. Students are allowed the liberty to choose their preferred cer
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