Requiring vast and profound knowledge, as well as extensive experience and practice, family nursing is an excruciatingly challenging job, which is why it deserves closer attention as an area that can be enhanced and improved. This paper will consider the outcomes of an interview with a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) from Miami, FL. As the outcomes of the interview have shown, despite the lack of involvement in the actual process of diagnosing health issues, the job of an FNP is quite strenuous, which is why tools and strategies for making the nurse-patient communication process easier are strongly needed.
The interview has helped to gain a clear idea of the setting in which the respondent works. The nursing environment in question is the Jackson Health System, which is a nonprofit organization providing healthcare services to all individuals. In the Jackson Health System, the interviewee as an FNP plays the role of a health educator, a leader of a small team of nurses, and, partially, a health provider. Specifically, an FNP nurse at the Jackson Health System is often authorized to diagnose health issues in patients, as well as prescribe and administer appropriate medications to them. Therefore, being an FNP can be considered a responsibility of communicating crucial information to patients and addressing public health issues.
Remarkably, the Jackson Health System is a rather large organization, which, despite being a non-profit one, manages to deliver excellent services to its patients. Presently, the Jackson Health System has 2,106 beds and manages to cater to every need of each of its visitors fully (Jackson Health System, 2021). Annually, the organization accepts 65,000 inpatients and addresses the needs of more than 300,000 outpatients (Jackson Health System, 2021). Furthermore, given the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the number of visitors must have increased stupendously (Jackson Health System, 2021). Nonetheless, the Jackson Health System has been offering crucial health-related services diligently and with due focus on quality.
Nonetheless, the process of tending to the needs of patients at the Jackson Health System is quite demanding, as the interview results indicate. Specifically, the interviewee mentions the issues associated with communication, which becomes especially challenging to implement when relationships between several individuals, namely, family members, must be coordinated to attain the required effect. Consequently, the range of qualifications and competencies that an FNP at the Jackson Health System must demonstrate has been increasing. Presently, an FNP must have a Master’s Degree in Nursing is required as the primary qualification standard for the specified position at the Jackson Health System. Additionally, certification qualifications, such as the presence of at least 2,000 practice hours in the clinical setting and 200 or more hours of education and professional training are required.
The described demands align with the existing standards of health service quality and ensure that an FNP is capable of assisting patients effectively. Namely, the ability to address the needs of patients from different backgrounds and with health issues of varying complexity is prioritized in the specified criteria. Indeed, according to the respondent, she had to undertake several courses, including the application of various physical assessment techniques. The specified development in the respondent’s professional growth was a response to the new responsibility, which required supporting patients on the Ortho service line at the Jackson Health System. Therefore, resilience, flexibility, and the ability to gain new skills expeditiously should be seen as some of the primary characteristics that an FNP may need to succeed in managing the health issues of patients and their families.
Finally, when talking about the roles and responsibilities of nurses in the clinical setting, one must address the functions of the Board of Nursing and Florida’s scope of practice. The standards established by the Florida Board of Nursing state that NPs, in general, and FNPs, in particular, are entitled to independent practice after having accumulated at least 3,000 hours of practice (Florida Board of Nursing, 2020). Moreover, the Florida BoN declares that the presence of an MSN Degree is instrumental in advancing one’s career as an FNP. For this reason, Florida Bon offers an opportunity to all those interested in improving their skillset to gain an MSN online (Florida Board of Nursing, 2021). The described change in the approach toward nurse education is likely to lead to a rise in FNPs and the extent of their skills and competencies, which, in turn, will affect the quality of care tremendously.
Due to the necessity to communicate crucial information concerning health literacy to families belonging to different cultural and economic backgrounds, a well as the challenges associated with meeting the established standards for quality of care and level of competence, FNPs need active support and provision of additional opportunities for patient communication and professional education. Thus, FNPs will be able to meet the set expectations more coherently and expeditiously while continuing to explore innovative ideas and opportunities that can improve the quality of care. Therefore, presently, establishing quality standards clearly and setting the course for incremental improvement of care, particularly, by encouraging nurse-patient communication and active engagement of the community should become the foundation for the future role of the FNP.
References
Florida Board of Nursing. (2020). Florida Board of Nursing approved remedial courses. Web.
Florida Board of Nursing. (2021). Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner requirements in Florida. Web.
Jackson Health System. (2021). World-class care for everyone. Web.