The College of St. Scholastica

Graduate Nursing

 

ADULT NURSE PRACTITIONER (ANP)

FAQs

 

Q.        What is an Adult Nurse Practitioner (ANP)?

A.        An adult nurse practitioner is a registered professional nurse who has completed a graduate education program (Master of Arts or Master of Science) in nursing. There are numerous nurse practitioner specialties, including Family Health, Psychiatric Mental Health, Geriatric Health, Women’s Health, Pediatric Health, and Acute Care. An adult nurse practitioner meets the primary health care needs of the adult by providing health assessments, direct care and guidance, teaching, or counseling as appropriate.

 

Q.        In what settings does an Adult Nurse Practitioner practice?

A.        The ANP typically works collaboratively with physicians and other professionals within the health care system. In addition to conventional practice in an office, clinic, or ambulatory care center, the ANP may follow adult patients in a variety of settings, such as home, work place, long term care facility, or hospital.

 

Q.        What is the scope of practice of the Adult Nurse Practitioner?

A.        Adult Nurse Practitioners treat patients across the adult life span in a holistic manner utilizing specialized skills to:

·         Take health histories and perform physical examinations.

·         Assess, treat and evaluate common acute and chronic illnesses.

·         Prescribe and manage medications for acute a stable chronic conditions.

·         Promote positive health behaviors through education and counseling.

·         Provide family planning services.

·         Provide health screening and disease prevention services such as blood pressure screening, nutrition counseling, immunizations and cancer screening.

·         Identify health needs of adults that require referral for more specialized care.

 

Q.        What is a collaborative practice agreement?

A.        A collaborative practice agreement is a mutually agreed upon plan between an advanced practice registered nurse and one or more licensed physicians that designates the scope of collaboration necessary to manage the care of patients with whom the advanced practice registered nurse and licensed physician(s) have similar expertise.  In other words, for purposes of optimal patient care, it is desirable that the ANP have a collaborative practice agreement with a physician. Collaborative practice agreements for nurse practitioners in the state of Minnesota are mutually drafted by the nurse practitioner and collaborating physician(s) in accordance with the Minnesota Nurses Association / Minnesota Medical Association’s Memorandum of Understanding For Written Prescribing Agreements Between an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and a Collaborating Physician.  The certified registered nurse practitioner and the collaborating physician have the responsibility to jointly determine the amount of autonomy that will be delegated specific to the prescribing, monitoring and managing of drugs.

 

Q.        What are the certification requirements for an Adult Nurse Practitioner?

A.        Adult Nurse Practitioners may apply for certification through the American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC) which requires that adult nurse practitioner candidates must meet all of the following basic eligibility requirements.  At the time of application, the candidate must:

·         Hold a currently active, unrestricted professional license in the United States or its territories.

·         Hold a master’s or higher degree in nursing.

·         Have completed formal training in the same specialty area of practice in which they are applying for certification through a master’s program or formal post-graduate master’s program in nursing.

·         Have graduated from a program offered by an accredited institution granting graduate-level academic credit for all course work that includes both didactic and clinical components, and a minimum of 500 hours of supervised clinical practice in the specialty area and role.

 

Adult nurse practitioners may also become certified through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) which identifies the following criteria for candidates: 

·         Certification is offered to graduates of approved Masters and Post Masters level adult and family nurse practitioner programs. 

·         Other nurse practitioners may petition the Certification program for permission to sit for the examinations. 

·         Family and adult nurse practitioners with prior certification by an approved national certification body who meet the criteria for reciprocity established by the AANP Certification Program, may apply for reciprocity by submitting the approved application.

 

Minnesota Requirement for Certification to Practice:

The Minnesota Board of Nursing requires certification by a National Nurse Certification organization in order to use the title Certified Nurse Practitioner.

 

Certification guidelines are available at: 

http://nursingworld.org/ancc/certification/exams.html

http://www.aanp.org

 

More information is available from the Minnesota Nurses Associate website at:

            http://www.mnnurses.org

 

More information is available from the following websites:

                        American Academy of Nurse Practitioners   http://www.aanp.org

                        American College of Nurse Practitioners  http://www.nurse.org/acnp/