Nowadays, medical sphere experiences continuous development due to the constant changes in the modern technology and innovations, which interfere into the healthcare (Cowen & Moorhead, 2014). This aspect has a critical impact on the nursing profession while being a reason for the development of the particular skills and competences. The primary goal of this paper is to highlight the differences between Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner while emphasizing the differences in the required competences with the assistance of Table 1. Meanwhile, it is critical to determine the level of influence of these practices on the specific areas of operations while providing examples from the personal experience. In the end, the conclusion summarizes the main findings of the paper.
Table 1. Comparison of nursing professionals.
Firstly, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner provides the healthcare services for the adults’ population while focusing on the maintenance of the high quality of services and prioritizing the “patient-centered, quality care to the adult and older adult population” (AACN, 2012, p. 12). In turn, the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner tends to have similar initial intentions, but this specialist does not require having a rapid reaction and analytical skills to assess the condition of the patient quickly like an acute professional (AACN, 2010) (see Table 1). The acute care professional has to adapt to the continuously changing environment and be able to diagnose “complex acute, critical, and chronically-ill patient for urgent and emergent conditions” (AACN, 2012, p.13) see Table 1). As for the examples from the personal life, working as a primary nurse was often associated with routine, and the stressful situations occurred rarely. Meanwhile, my acute nurse colleagues had to be responsible for their actions, as this sphere is related to fast decision-making, analytical skills, and critical thinking. Based on the factors mentioned above, these competences help improve the quality of the healthcare and minimize the occurrence of death.
Another matter, which implies the differences in competences, is the initial education while having AG-ACNP and AG-PCNP respectively (Windland-Brown & Dunphy, 2013). These programs tend to supply a future professional with the additional information about the nursing profession, working in critical situations, and patient-centered practices. Nonetheless, the general nurse does not have a particular specialization due to the necessity to perform a variety of tasks (Joel, 2013) (see Table 1). Meanwhile, the acute nurse has to have a focus on the particular medical sphere such as oncology, cardiology, critical care, or trauma (AACN, 2012) (see Table 1). This aspect implies that the educational background of the acute nurse has to be more profound while having a deep understanding of nuances and details in the selected field. This matter is a necessity since the nursing professional operates in the critical conditions, which require fast decision-making. In this case, I can propose the example that that the acute nurses in the emergency department have to be able to retrieve their theoretical knowledge quickly, and this aspect is vital due to the critical nature of the situations.
Another difference in the competences is the fact that the acute nursing care practitioner has to react quickly to the changes in the patient’s condition (AACN, 2012) (see Table 1). For instance, the nurse has to employ various intervention strategies to help patient “with a rapidly changing deteriorating physiologic condition” such as stroke (AACN, 2012, p. 18; Summers et al., 2009). This aspect is critical for the nursing professional operating in this field, as it helps a patient to overcome his/her healthcare problems. A general nurse also has to be prepared to face critical situations in case of emergency, but a critical condition of the patients is not common in the primary care (see Table 1). Based on my personal observations, I can state that the critical situations are present on the regular basis in the acute care, and the fast reaction of the nurses helps decrease the percentage of deaths in this segment. Eventually, this skill is a pivotal part of acute healthcare and clearly differentiates it from primary care competences.
In the end, the paper revealed that the selected nursing practitioners have to have different educational backgrounds and competences to be able to perform the particular tasks and duties related to their areas of operations. The primary dissimilarity between these professionals is the requirement of acute nursing professional to work under the continuous stress and constantly altering working conditions, as the accuracy and clarity of the diagnosis might be a definer of the individual’s life. In turn, the primary care nurse also has to prioritize the patient-centered relationships, but the shifts are not as stressful due to the location in the particular place and serving the patients with identified needs. Based on the factors provided above, both of the nurses have to have a sufficient educational background to provide accurate diagnosis and focus on the need of the patients.
References
AACN. (2012). Adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner competences. Web.
AACN. (2010). Adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner competences. Web.
Cowen, P., & Moorhead, S. (2014). Current issues in nursing. St. Louis, MI: MOSBY Elsevier.
Joel, L. (2013). Advanced practice nursing: Essentials of role development. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.
Summers, D., Leonard, A., Wentworth, D., Saver, J., Simpson, J., Spilker, J.,…, Mitchel, P. (2009). Comprehensive overview of nursing and interdisciplinary care of acute ischemic stroke patient. Stroke, 40, 2911-2944.
Windland-Brown, J., & Dunphy, L. (2013). Adult-gerontology and Family Nurse Practitioner: Certification Examination: Review Questions and Strategies. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.