Introduction
Lake Charles Memorial Hospital (LCMH) is a unique medical organization that strives to cover all possible patient services. The entity encompasses a variety of facilities that might appeal to a large patient base and attract individuals from neighboring cities and suburban areas to benefit from LCMH specializations. The management heavily relies on the all-around nature of the hospital, as the latter covers a large number of services for practically any patient (Lake Charles Memorial Health System, 2021). The fact that LCMH is a full-service medical facility makes it one of the best hospitals in the State of Louisiana and not just the City of Lake Charles. The process of care is comprehensive, so the team does not have any issues with meeting the medical needs of multiple patients at once, irrespective of their age and gender.
Client Base
On average, LCMH treats at least 60,000 patients per annum (Lake Charles Memorial Health System, 2021). This is possible due to the hospital being the largest full-service system in the southwestern part of Louisiana. LCMH also specializes in admitting emergency patients, as it features a 24/7/365 facility for stroke care and emergency medicine. These statistics prove that LCMH is one of the most versatile care provision centers in the area that appeal to a large number of patients.
Professional Fit for Advanced Nursing Role
To be eligible for an advanced nursing role at LCMH, the nurse should have a graduate/postgraduate degree (or a doctoral alternative). The university or college of choice should be regionally accredited to help the intended advanced nurse pursue state licensure and national certification (Hicks et al., 2018). There is a list of graduate schools approved by the Board available online to all potential applicants. Several courses have to be taken by the future advanced nursing practitioner, with some of them being advanced pharmacology, management of healthcare status, and advanced pathophysiology (Hodges et al., 2019). The potential advanced nurse should also engage in at least 500 clinical hours of patient care to prove eligibility.
Core Competencies
For an advanced nurse practitioner to be a great fit for LCMH, they would have to possess certain core competencies. The primary element is consultation, which would require the nurse to design complex interventions and apply specific knowledge from the areas of medicine and psychology (Schumacher & Risco, 2017). Furthermore, there would be a need to develop clinical and professional leadership to interact with the staff efficiently. A proficient advanced nurse should be capable of affecting patient outcomes through the development of relationships with other practitioners (Heinen et al., 2019). Such a professional should also be a skilled researcher to remain a valuable member of the team. Interventions would be tailored to specific patients following the evidence-based literature and professional experience (Hicks et al., 2018). The notion of ethical decision-making is also important because it is the mediating factor for clinical dilemmas, where ethics would simplify the reporting procedures and help identify additional concerns (Schumacher & Risco, 2017). The last core competency is tutoring, as it requires expertise and experience from the advanced nurse (Hodges et al., 2019). Accordingly, these five core competencies represent the list of skills that have to be nurtured by any advanced nurse to succeed.
Job Description
The role of an advanced practitioner requires the nurse to be responsible for autonomous work and an essentially strong collaboration with other team members. The clinical team would significantly benefit from the presence of an advanced nurse practitioner who proved to be a professional ready to demonstrate critical thinking and push the boundaries of the existing knowledge. An advanced nurse would have to develop effective relationships with numerous health care assistants, general practitioners, and practice nurses. Furthermore, such an employee will be expected to deliver excellent care and establish a positive connection with patients. The nurse would have to remain in line with the competency of ethical decision-making and evaluate the situation based on the available evidence. An advanced nurse practitioner is additionally expected to support masterful communication at all times and create room for collaboration and multidisciplinary operations. State policies and procedures have to be carefully followed by the advanced nurse for them to be effective leaders when required.
Scope of Practice
There are several important points regarding the scope of practice established within Louisiana concerning advanced nurse practitioners. The first crucial point is the strict approach to substance prescriptions. Nurse practitioners are not allowed to prescribe any controlled medications when there are obesity or chronic pains found in patients. Under no circumstances advanced nurse practitioners may be allowed to prescribe any controlled substances to their family members or themselves. To gain access to controlled substance prescriptions, advanced nurses in Louisiana should complete at least 500 hours of clinical practice (Hicks et al., 2018). The privilege is later granted via the Louisiana Board of Nursing and a specific application sent by the given nurse. Finally, such nursing practitioners should obtain at least six hours of education in pharmacology to be eligible for specific benefits of advanced nursing practice in Louisiana.
References
Heinen, M., van Oostveen, C., Peters, J., Vermeulen, H., & Huis, A. (2019). An integrative review of leadership competencies and attributes in advanced nursing practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75(11), 2378-2392. Web.
Hicks, K. E., Rico, J., & Beauchesne, M. (2018). Core curriculum and competencies: A multisite analysis of postgraduate training programs for primary care nurse practitioners. Journal of Professional Nursing, 34(6), 454-462. Web.
Hodges, A. L., Konicki, A. J., Talley, M. H., Bordelon, C. J., Holland, A. C., & Galin, F. S. (2019). Competency-based education in transitioning nurse practitioner students from education into practice. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 31(11), 675-682. Web.
Lake Charles Memorial Health System. (2021). About us. Lake Charles Memorial Health System. Web.
Schumacher, G., & Risco, K. (2017). Competency-based nurse practitioner education: An overview for the preceptor. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 13(9), 596-602. Web.