The amount of hours a nurse practitioner works can vary. Just like for flight nurses, travel nurses, and registered nurses. The practitioner’s hours really depend on her specialty, patient load, and where he or she works. They could have 8 to 24 hour long shifts depending on the factors previously mentioned.
If a nurse practitioner works in a hospital, then she usually works 10 to 14 hour long shifts. She or he will usually work three or four shifts week. More than three shifts is overtime which happens quite a lot. This can be due to nurse shortage or an influx of patients. Or other nurse practitioners that call out of work one day or are on vacation.
Nurse practitioners that work in private practices or offices usually perform doctor specific duties. This means that they may only work during business hours which usually fall between 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday. These hours could vary slightly depending on the office.
Generally, outside of the nurse practitioners that work in offices, it is hard to tell what a nurse practitioners hours will be on any given shift. There are a lot variables to take into account like the ones mentioned above. He or she might not even know until they get to work.
Most nurse practitioners know how many shifts they will be working that week or month. They should know what days they have off. It is just the hours slightly vary for every shift because of intangibles on the job.
If a nurse practitioner wants a concrete schedule then working for an office or private practice is the way to go. They have set hours and you will make more money than working in the hospital. These places usually look for nurse practitioners that have hospital experience though.
What Do Nurse Practitioners Do Again?
An advanced practiced registered nurse (APRN) is another name for nurse practitioner (NP). These are nurses who give physical and medical care to their patients in specific field or practice of medicine such as pediatric care or cardiac care. They are able to diagnose patients. They can also prescribe treatment and medication to their patients.
Treatment for these patients could involve medication, therapy, intervention, education, or dietary changes. It is within a nurse practitioner’s power to help the patient with all these issues.
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They can also make nurse diagnoses as well. They can follow the nursing process to treat patients too. They have a lot of the duties of both nurses and doctors. The difference between a nurse practitioner and a doctor is the NP treats the patient as a whole while the Doctor focuses on the patient’s symptoms.
They provide the patient with medical advice and show them what they can do reach full health again. This is one those great careers nursing students should to aspire to. Nurse practitioners have a lot more responsibility and they get paid more.