Advanced Practice Clinician Weeks – Time for celebration of history and continuation!

As a nurse practitioner and a president of an association that educates and legislates for NPs, I was bombarded this last week with all the things I should be doing to celebrate the history and existence of my fellow NPs. And as I sit here on this dreary Monday morning waiting for my 1stpatient to arrive, I am wondering … do all advanced practice clinicians have a week? And if so, why do I not know about them and what do I do next? So here are all the APC-week logos and a definition of each from their national websites. I am putting them on the calendar for 2019 so all MAAPC’s good wishes will be on time.

 

So happy belated <insert your acronym here> Week to all our CRNA (Jan), CNS (Sept), NMW (Oct) and PA (Oct) Colleagues. And happy timely NP (Nov) Week!

Dr. Elaine Crain, DNP, MSN, RN, FNP
President, Maryland Academy of Advanced Practice Clinicians

 

January

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists are advanced practice registered nurses who administer approximately 43 million anesthetics to patients each year in the United States. In some states,

CRNAs are the sole anesthesia professionals in nearly 100 percent of rural hospitals, ensuring patient access to obstetrical, surgical, trauma stabilization, and pain management services.

CRNA services include pre-anesthesia evaluation, administering the anesthetic, monitoring and interpreting the patient's vital signs, and managing the patient throughout surgery.

 

 

September

The clinical nurse specialist has been a part of the health care industrial complex in the United States for more than 60 years. Through the decades, the profession has become widely accepted in the health care system as a standardized, licensed, and fully regulated health care occupation, and one that significantly impacts the nation’s economy by providing safe, low-cost, and effective evidence-based health care services.

 

October

While midwives are well-known for attending births, 53.3% of CNMs/CMs identify reproductive care and 33.1% identify primary care as main responsibilities in their full-time positions. Examples include annual exams, writing prescriptions, basic nutrition counseling, parenting education, patient education, and reproductive health visits.3

CNMs are licensed, independent health care providers with prescriptive authority in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, and Puerto Rico. CNMs are defined as primary care providers under federal law.

 

 

October

Physicians Assistants are medical professionals who diagnose illness, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and often serve as a patient’s principal healthcare provider. With thousands of hours of medical training, PAs are versatile and collaborative.

PAs practice in every state and in every medical setting and specialty, improving healthcare access and quality. Scroll down to learn more about the PA profession and its commitment to improving and expanding healthcare.

 

 

November

Nurse Practitioners partner with their patients, assisting them in making better lifestyle and health care decisions. NPs are different from other health care providers—they focus on the whole person when treating specific health problems, and they educate their patients on the effects those problems will have on them, their loved ones and their communities.

An NP diagnoses, treats, prescribes and manages medications and treatments and provides a wide range of preventive and acute health care services to individuals of all ages.

NPs are dedicated professionals who provide high-quality, cost-effective, personalized health care to diverse populations in rural and urban settings.