Job Options For AGACNP Nurse Practitioners
It is a common occurrence that NPs who I talk with personally or read about in forums indicate they do not understand the possible roles they can serve as an adult gero acute care nurse practitioner. Most people see that certification and think “I don’t want to be an ICU NP; not choosing that path.” The purpose of this article is to highlight the many, many different pathways you can take with your AGACNP certification. Obviously, being an acute care NP I possess some bias, especially given my personal job acquisition experience (more on that later). Having disclosed that, I do want to add that I speak with around 50 NPs a year who represent primarily FNP and ACNP certifications and am aware of the national trends in hiring. Trust me when I say, I’d be willing to bet there are far more possibilities out there for you as an ACNP than you realize.
NP vs RN: Differences in employment structure
This topic comes from a question I received from a client asking to explain how nurse practitioners fit into a physician run group. She expressed her surprise to learn that many APPs and physicians who work in a hospital are not employed by the hospital and asked for feedback about how this works and how nurse practitioners fit into this model. I definitely understand this confusion. As nurses, we are used to standard hospital or health system employment with clear hierarchical management. In this post I’ll talk about my experience with this and the main differences between NPs and RNs in regards to:
Who employs you.
Who manages/directs you.
How you get paid.
Who your colleagues are.
Clinical Pearls: Waveform Capnography
End tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) measures exhaled carbon dioxide, it therefore reflects the efficacy with which CO2 is pumped back to the lungs (indirect measurement of cardiac output) and then exhaled (ventilation). Waveform Capnography is a continuous tracing, or waveform, of ETCO2. It is very useful when assessed as a trend.
Clinical Pearls: Pleural Effusions
Pleural effusions can be a big barrier to improving respiratory status in the ICU. Deciding how and when to treat them becomes easier once you break down how to diagnose and treat.