Strategies for Success in the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Role

An acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP) is an advanced practice nurse with a master's degree in nursing (MSN) who has completed a course of study that includes theoretical content and supervised clinical practice. In addition to passing a national exam, the ACNP must achieve state-specific licensure. ACNPs provide primary care to patients with complex medical issues in intensive care units (ICUs), emergency departments (EDs), inpatient hospital units, clinics, and doctors' offices.

Primary Care

• The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has established entry-level competencies for successful ACNPs, and these competencies have been endorsed by all major national organizations dealing with advanced practice nursing. Many of these competencies center on health promotion, health protection, disease prevention, and treatment. A successful advanced practice nurse must effectively assess, evaluate, and document the primary care she provides to patients. She has to use the knowledge and skills garnered in graduate school to identify both primary diagnoses and complications.

  AACN provides specific recommendations about how the ACNP can manage the autonomous component of his role, but also highlights the importance of collaborating with other primary care providers and clinicians from other healthcare professions. An effective advanced practice nurse enhances the nurse-patient relationship through well-planned communication, shared decision-making, and patient advocacy. A great ACNP needs to be a good teacher as well as a coach for patients, families, and other members of the healthcare team. As the ACNP becomes more comfortable in her role, she'll be expected to serve as the leader of the healthcare team caring for her patient.

Professional Role

• The experts who designed AACN's competencies emphasized strategies the ACNP needs to establish and maintain an effective professional role. While the ACNP earns a master's degree in nursing as an entry to his advanced practice role, ongoing education and research activities are crucial to his success. He'll need to network with other advanced practice nurses to learn how to explain his role within complex health systems. By seeking out mentors from professional organizations, he will learn to carry out his work in a way that reflects the system's missions and values, allowing him to positively impact patient outcomes.

Monitoring Outcomes

• As an ACNP solidifies her own practice and increases the depth and breadth of her knowledge, she can play a key role in monitoring the care delivered to her patients and ensuring the best possible outcomes. She'll become adept at providing primary care in a way that acknowledges and respects the cultural diversity of her patient population. A great ACNP continually advocates for evidence-based practice within the organization, and contributes to that practice by serving as an educator, researcher, and public speaker.