First of all, you might be asking, what is a nurse practitioner? A nurse practitioner is a licensed healthcare professional who diagnoses and treats medical conditions. They prescribe medication, order and interpret diagnostic tests, and perform invasive procedures. Nursing theory serves as the foundation of their philosophy of care, and they approach patient care holistically by emphasizing health promotion, disease prevention, and health education.

So why do these professionals make such good medical advisors for new health technology companies? Here are five reasons why every company needs to get a nurse practitioner on board.

Comprehensive Education

Nurse practitioners undergo extensive and holistic education. They must earn both a bachelor of science and a master of science in nursing within their medical specialty: acute care, adult health, family health, gerontology, neonatal health, oncology, pediatrics, psychiatry, or women’s health. Intermixed with their science and medical courses, nurse practitioners are required to take additional courses in leadership, health policy, informatics, evidence-based practice, statistics, organizational behavior, and health behavior change.

Many nurse practitioners also seek out sub-specialty certification in either immunology, cardiology, dermatology, emergency, endocrinology, gastroenterology, neurology, occupational health, orthopedics, pulmonology, sports medicine, and urology. Some nurse practitioners also earn doctorate degrees: either a DNP (doctor of nursing practice), a PhD (doctor of philosophy in nursing), or both!

Dual Nursing & Medical Experience

Most nurse practitioners have at least 10 years of registered nursing experience prior to returning to school. Once a nurse practitioner, she then diagnoses and treats medical conditions. So basically, that’s two for the price of one: with a nurse practitioner you get someone with the perspective of a nurse and a physician. Win-Win!

Most Trusted

Every year, Gallup conducts a survey regarding Americans’ perceptions on the honesty and ethical standards of different professionals. In 2015, the most trusted profession was nursing. Actually, since the survey started including nurses in 1999, they have topped the list nearly every single year.

According to this survey, 80% of respondents rated nurses as having very high honesty and ethical standards compared with a 7% rating for Congress and 8% for care salespeople. Nurse practitioners bring an air of trustworthiness. Adding a nurse practitioner to your advisory board might increase the confidence your customers have in your brand or product.

Bread for Innovation

Something I’ve noticed about nurse practitioners is they always have ideas. They are always out to drive change, and they are always out to make things more efficient. Why are they so perfect for innovation? I think it is because their profession was an innovation itself.

For decades, the healthcare system has cried for a solution to the crushing costs, poor outcomes, lack of access, and too few physicians. Dr. Loretta Ford, a public health nurse, sought to answer these issues with an innovative new discipline. She thought, “Why can’t a registered nurse with advanced education provide medical diagnosis and prescribe medication?”  Well, thanks to her vision, they can now! Nurse practitioners are natural innovators because they’ve been innovating since their inception.

True Collaborators

Nurse practitioners are genuine collaborators. Their education emphasizes the value of interprofessional teamwork  and patient-centeredness. You’ll be hard pressed to find a nurse practitioner with an ego, as most of them authentically seek to improve the lives of their patients and the healthcare system as a whole. Nurse practitioners value the perspective and insights of their colleagues and will be poised on day one to work closely with each member of the business team. Bottom line: nurse practitioners want to work together in order to make meaningful change.

So, as you begin selecting individuals for your healthcare advisory board, you might want to consider a nurse practitioner. Not only do they bring trustworthiness to your brand and an innovative, collaborative spirit, but they also possess the perspective of both a nurse and a physician. Basically, they’re awesome.

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What drew me to the nursing profession were the science courses, holistic philosophy of treatment, and ability to begin clinical care immediately. I entered nursing school in August 2007 full of determination, armed with a stethoscope and pathophysiology textbook. Like your prototypical type-A nurse, I came equipped with pens, sticky notes, highlighters, three-ring binders, reference books, coffee, and my computer. However, what I wasn’t prepared for were the five unlikely prejudices on my journey to becoming a doctor of nursing practice.

You are too smart for nursing school.

The first time I heard this was from a family member. Then I heard it again from friends and colleagues. Initially, I was confused by this assertion: “Uh oh, I must not be very smart because nursing school is actually really challenging.” Over time I realized that the problem was a public misunderstanding. Actually, I was smart enough to go to nursing school.

Here are a few things I think the world should know about nursing school. First, we take science classes. Yes, that means we study anatomy, physiology, chemistry, microbiology, pharmacology, and pathophysiology. Second, we must pass standardized benchmarking exams every year. Third, we don’t wear white dresses and hats. Fourth, we aren’t all women, and the number of males entering the profession continues to grow. Fifth, we undergo extensive clinical rotations beginning in our undergraduate studies. Sixth, we are not trained to obey doctor’s orders; in fact, we are educated to provide autonomous and collaborative care of all individuals either sick or well across all settings.

Licensed practical nurses are not real nurses.

During my undergraduate studies, I worked as a mental health specialist & student nurse at a child and adolescent psychiatric hospital. A licensed practical nurse (LPN) on my unit became my mentor and inspiration: she supported me, empowered me, and guided me. She taught me how to lead group therapy sessions, monitor medication side effects, and effectively use de-escalation techniques. I will never forget her passion and enthusiasm for caring for children with mental illness.

Throughout my career, I’ve heard registered nurses (RNs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) make unnecessarily negative statements about the competence of LPNs: “They’re not real nurses.” This is absolutely not true. Licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, and nurse practitioners are all real nurses, and we work side by side, inextricably bound by the vision of improving our patients’ lives.

You can’t go straight from nursing school to nurse practitioner school.

After about three years of nursing school, I knew I wanted to be a nurse practitioner. I admired the nurse practitioners I encountered in practice, and I was fascinated by their role in patient care. However, when I decided to go straight to nurse practitioner school, I was met with resistance. Instead of affirmations or words of encouragement, my undergraduate professors advised me otherwise, saying, “You need at least one year of medical-surgical nursing experience first.”

Ultimately, I attended nurse practitioner school immediately after graduation. Because I never worked as an RN, I am sometimes referred to as a “non-nurse nurse practitioner.” This term has shadowed me through my masters and doctorate program making me constantly question my “nurse-ness.” However, despite my lack of RN experience, I still became a great nurse practitioner.

Now that you’re a nurse practitioner, when are you applying to medical school?

To become a medical doctor, you must go to medical school. To become a dentist, you must go to dental school. To become a nurse practitioner, you must go to nurse practitioner school. Asking a nurse practitioner when she is going to medical school is nonsensical, yet I’m asked this question all the time.

Nurse practitioners are a distinctive type of healthcare provider who diagnose and treat medical conditions. We prescribe medication, order and interpret diagnostic tests, and perform invasive procedures. Nursing theory serves as the foundation of our philosophy of care: we approach patient care holistically by emphasizing health promotion, disease prevention, and health education.

Nurse practitioners choose to specialize in acute care, adult health, family health, gerontology, neonatal health, oncology, pediatrics, psychiatry, or women’s health. We subspecialize in immunology, cardiology, dermatology, emergency, endocrinology, gastroenterology, neurology, occupational health, orthopedics, pulmonology, sports medicine, and urology. Nurse practitioners don’t need to go to medical school because they are already nurse practitioners.

A doctor of nursing practice is not a doctor.

Nurse practitioners may choose to seek a professional doctorate, typically a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree. With more and more nurse practitioners earning their doctorate degree, interdisciplinary controversy has ensued. Should nurse practitioners be allowed to address themselves as Doctor?

Historically, only Doctors of Medicine (MD), Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Dentists (DDS or DMD), Doctors of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), Doctors of Optometry (OD), Doctors of Psychology (Psy. D), and Doctors of Chiropractic (DC) have referred to themselves as “doctors” in a clinical setting. Unfortunately, adding DNP to this list has been met with opposition.

The title doctor comes from the Latin word docere meaning to teach. This designation has never referred exclusively to specific types of doctors but instead to any person receiving a doctoral degree in any field (Dreher & Glasgow, 2011). The label “doctor” is common to many disciplines, and it is not the domain of any one group of healthcare providers.

As a nurse practitioner, never has it been my intention to misrepresent myself as an MD, DO, DDS, DMD, DPM, OD, Psy.D or DC. I am proud to be a DNP. I resolve that we respect each other’s accomplishments and value the unique contributions of each professional. We should use our distinct perspectives to the advantage of our patients, not as a means to divide us

Conclusion

When I was first confronted by these unexpected prejudices, I was unassuming—just observing and quietly wondering, “This doesn’t seem right…” Eight years and 156 credit hours later, I’ve become a spitfire, not missing a chance to stand up for myself or my colleagues. Although these invisible prejudices ache, they have shaped me (and many other nurses) into fierce advocates poised for reformation.

In the face of these challenges, all nurses must stand together and remain united in our vision of improving the health and wellbeing of individuals, both locally and globally. With our determination, we can be a powerful force in shaping the future of healthcare.

Microsoft offers great discounts on Microsoft Office products to nursing students. Find out more here: https://products.office.com/en-us/student

References

Dreher, H. M. & Glasgow, M. E. (2011). Role development for doctoral advanced nursing practice. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.

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As technology continues to expand, so do the ethical concerns. Ethics is a branch of knowledge that utilizes conceptual tools to assess situations and morally guide decision-making (Simpson, 2005). Ethics specific to Health Information Technology (HIT) are also called e-ethics or infoethics (Layman, 2003). HIT creates clashes between the ethics of beneficence, autonomy, fidelity, and justice (Layman, 2003). The Hippocratic Oath, primom non nocere (first, do no harm), promised by healthcare professionals solicits the question, can HIT cause harm (Simpson, 2005)?

Without a doubt, HIT will continue to impact health systems and necessitates great leaders and thinkers to assess the ethics of new technological breakthroughs. Nurses are prepared both academically and experientially to confront these ethical questions while ensuring excellent patient care. According to theAmerican Nurses Association (ANA) (2008), nursing informatics uses nursing science, computer science, and information science to communicate wisdom into nursing practice as a means to support patients, nurses, and other healthcare providers (ANA, 2008).

Common ethical dilemmas within the field of nursing informatics include the confidentiality and privacy of electronic medical records, the public’s use of the Internet for health advice, the patient-provider relationship within cybermedicine interactions, and access to decision-support software (Layman, 2003). Another frequent ethical concern includes information security on portal devices such as cellphones, tablets and laptops. This blog post elaborates on this ethical concern and provides recommendations that align with the ANA’s code of conduct.

Published by the ANA, the Code of Ethics for Nurses delineates the goals, values, and obligations of the nursing profession (ANA, 2001). Provision three section one and two (3.1 & 3.2) outlines the nurse’s responsibility to safeguard the patient’s privacy and right to confidentiality (ANA, 2001). Dr. Laurie Badzek, director of the ANA Center for Ethics and Human Rights, also emphasizes the nurse’s duty to guard and protect the patient’s identifiable health information (Badzek, 2003). Dr. Badzek stresses that maintaining a sense of trust between the nurse and patient begins with ensuring privacy and confidentiality (Badzek, 2003).

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a seminal book titled For the Record: Protecting Electronic Health Information. This text recognizes the growing use of information technology within the healthcare sector. The IOM (1999) emphasizes the vulnerabilities of HIT, especially the potential ethical concerns regarding privacy and confidentiality. Privacy is identified as a fundamental right of an individual by the IOM (IOM, 1999). Likewise, the ANA calls nurses to serve as advocates for patient’s right to privacy by lobbying for policies and regulations that protect the confidentiality of information (ANA, 2001).

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) provides a helpful list of recommendations for aid nurses in protecting their patient’s private health information (ONC, 2014). First, cell phones, tablets, and laptops should use a password or other type of user authentication (ONC, 2013). The devices should have encryption installed and enable to protect the data while it is stored on or sent by the mobile device (ONC, 2013). Remote wiping and remote disabling features should be activated. File sharing applications should be disabled and a personal firewall should be enabled to prevent unauthorized connections (ONC, 2013). Security software should be installed and updated regularly as well (ONC, 2013). Finally, any stored health information should be deleted before the device is discarded or reused (ONC, 2013).

With a focus on HIT and the evolving ethical concerns regarding its use, this blog post discussed the importance of securing portable devices containing private health information. The post provided insights regarding e-ethics and the moral questions facing not only nurses but all healthcare providers. With their extensive education and strong foundation in patient care, nurses are positioned perfectly to solve the ethical dilemmas that arise from HIT.

References

American Nurses Association. (2001). The code of ethics for nurses. Washington, DC: Nursesbooks.org.

American Nurses Association. (2008). Nursing informatics: Scope and standards of practice. Washington, DC: Nursesbooks.org.

Badzek, L. & Gross, L. (1999). Confidentiality and privacy: At the forefront for nurses. American Journal of Nursing, 99(6), 52-54

Hebda, T. & Czar, P. (2013). Handbook of informatics for nurses. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Institute of Medicine. (1999). For the record: Protecting electronic health information. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Layman, E. (2003). Health informatics ethical issues. Health Care Manager, 22(1), 2-15.

Simpson, R. L. (2005). Nursing informatics. patient and nurse safety: How information technology makes a difference. Nursing administration quarterly. 29(1), 97-101.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. (2013). How can you protect and secure health information when using a mobile device? Retrieved from:http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/how-can-you-protect-and-secure-health-information-when-using-mobile-device

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. (2014). About ONC. Retrieved from: http://www.healthit.gov/newsroom/about-onc

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