Nurse Insights: What Options Are Available for NPs Who Don’t Want to Open Their Own Practice?
Employment Opportunities in Hospitals and Clinics
As a nurse practitioner (NP), you have the potential to work in a wide range of roles within hospitals and clinics. These roles largely depend on your specialty area, as NPs are often required to have specialized education and certification in specific clinical areas.
Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
As an FNP, you’ll be providing comprehensive healthcare services to patients throughout their lifespan. This includes preventive care, health education, diagnosis and treatment of illnesses, and management of chronic health conditions. In many states, FNPs can operate independently without physician supervision.
Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP)
If you are trained as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, you’re specially trained to provide care to patients with acute, critical, or complex chronic health conditions. Working in critical care services, emergency rooms, or specialized units such as cardiology or neurology is common for ACNPs.
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP)
Pediatric Nurse Practitioners are responsible for providing comprehensive pediatric care. This includes well-child care, preventive health services, management of childhood illnesses, and coordination of specialized care for complex health issues.
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)
Working as a PMHNP, your focus will be on individuals, groups, and families with psychiatric disorders, providing mental health services like therapy and prescribing medications.
In each of these roles, NPs are expected to carry out activities such as performing physical exams, diagnosing and treating illnesses and injuries, ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests, managing patients’ overall care, prescribing medications, and educating and counseling patients and their families about healthcare and disease prevention. They also take on leadership roles, participating in or leading quality improvement activities, and often supervising and mentoring other nursing or medical staff.
NPs have full practice authority (FPA) in 32 states and the District of Columbia, meaning they have the latitude to provide the full range of services they are trained for without physician supervision. In the rest of the states, NPs have reduced or restricted practice, meaning they must have a collaborative agreement with a physician to provide patient care, or they are supervised by a physician.
Exploring Academic Careers in Nursing Education
As a nurse practitioner, you have the option to utilize your experience and expertise by teaching future nurses at universities or vocational colleges. This path allows you to influence the direction of nursing education and mold upcoming healthcare professionals.
Teaching at Universities
To teach at a university as an NP, you are generally required to hold a minimum of a master’s degree in nursing. However, you’ll find that many universities prefer their faculty to have a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or a PhD in Nursing. This expectation ensures that instructors have the theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience needed in the ever-evolving field of healthcare.
You will also be expected to demonstrate competency in the areas you’ll be teaching. For instance, if you are instructing courses on geriatric care, you should have experience in that field. Not only does this lend credibility to your teachings, but it allows you to provide students with real-world examples.
Teaching at Vocational Colleges
Teaching in a vocational or community college requires considerably less educational preparation than university roles. While a master’s degree in nursing is still preferable, some facilities may accept registered nurses (RNs) with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, especially if they hold extensive practical experience in the field.
Prerequisites to teach in vocational colleges often include current RN licensing and certification, along with demonstrated expertise in a key nursing area. Practical, hands-on nursing experience is heavily valued in a Vocational Education and Training (VET) setting as you’ll be preparing students for direct care roles in a variety of healthcare settings.
Regardless of whether you choose to teach at a university or in a vocational college, you’ll be expected to develop curriculum, conduct evaluations, provide mentorship, and stay updated on current nursing policies and practices.
Whether opting for the academic rigor of university teaching or the practical focus of vocational schools, nursing education offers NPs a rewarding way to share their knowledge and shape the future of healthcare.
