Imagine that you live on a thousand acre ranch in the middle of a vast area of undeveloped land, and that the nearest medical help was three hours away, or that you live in the upper reaches of the mountains in a town without a doctor.  In rural areas like these the availability of medical care is often sparse at best. Many rural communities have difficulty attracting medical doctors because of their small populations, lack of major economic growth, or because they don’t meet the salary expectations of most medical doctors.

Nurse Practitioners (NPs) provide a solution to this critical challenge. NPs have been providing primary, acute, and specialty healthcare to patients of all ages and walks of life for nearly half a century. They are advanced-practice nurses, trained at the master’s or doctoral degree level to deliver the same care as a primary care physician. NPs assess patients, order and interpret diagnostic tests, make diagnoses, initiate and manage treatment plans, and prescribe medications.
A two-year study found that the medical care given by NPs was equal to or better than the quality of care given by a primary physician. The study also showed that physician patients average more repeat primary care visits than patients treated by NPs. Because NPs provide this high caliber of exceptional care their role is expanding rapidly. There are now about 140,000 NPs in the U.S. according to the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, yet many patients still need to be educated on what a NP can do.

Lori Hudson, RN, FNP-C, Owner of Temple Medical Clinic in Temple, Georgia, tells every new patient that she is a NP. “They don’t always understand the role, but if you give me five minutes with them, I’ve got them,” she said. “I see my job as taking time to listen so that I can help people. Health and wellness are a growing part of my practice. I’m not going to tell a diabetic patient to just take a pill; I’m going to tell him 10 other things he needs to do to get better, and I’m going to follow up with phone calls to check on his progress.”

Today, many small town hospitals are staffed successfully by NPs. These facilities generally are supported by a doctor who comes in once a month or so to sign off on paperwork. Without NPs, these hospitals would close forcing nearby residents to travel hours for vital medical attention. In some areas NPs work under the supervision of a medical doctor. However, in 20 states across America, NPs are empowered to work independently, often giving rural communities medical care that previously was not available.

Patti Thomas, RN, MSN, FNP-C, is a Family Nurse Practitioner with Gwinnett Emergency Specialists at Gwinnett Medical Center and instructor at the Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing and Health Professions at Georgia State University. She believes that the NP role is much better known, accepted, and that it continues to expand, especially rural and semi-rural areas. “When I started going to the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners annual meetings, there were no classes for emergency room NPs. Now there are five days of sessions, and I meet NPs practicing in cardiology, dermatology, oncology, pain management, diabetic foot care, nephrology and plastic surgery—if the role isn’t there yet, you can develop it.”

NPs are yet another example of the exceedingly high level of skill, care, and professionalism found in our nursing community. At Barco’s Nightingales Foundation, we are proud to salute and support NPs and all nursing professionals.
Learn more at the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners website.