Independent Contractor

 

MAKE A PEER RESPONSE OR REVIEW IN THE ESSAY BELOW

  • Length: A minimum of 150 words per post, not including references
  • Citations: At least one high-level scholarly reference in APA per post from within the last 5 years

 

Independent Contractor

The number of primary care nurse practitioners (NPs) is predicted to nearly double from 2013 through 2025. Nurse practitioners, particularly in primary care, are critical to solving the existing and future lack of health care professionals. Transitioning from registered nurse (RN) to nurse practitioner (NP) is a major professional change. It is very tough and stressful in a variety of settings. During this period, the RN job transitions from experienced and an expert, to an inexperienced, beginner status in the NP role. In order for NPs to become efficient and effective providers, a successful role transformation is critical (Barnes H. (2015).

As a future and novice APRN, I will not be expecting too much from my employer because adequate training and experience are required before I can start practicing or start seeing patients by myself. Some of the important elements that I would focus on when looking for a job will be salary, working hours, paid leave, sick leave, bonuses, employment contract, malpractice insurance, benefits, patient load, professional liability insurance, location, company reputation, continuing education credits, etc. There are a few things that can be negotiable and some are non-negotiable.

Negotiable elements include:

  • Salary- New APRN with no experience
  • Working hours- Working weekends and holidays
  • Being on call provider-after hours or weekends
  • Travel contract-changing locations

Non-Negotiable elements include:

  • Benefits- medical, and other insurance packages
  • Sick leave and paid leave
  • Malpractice and liability insurance
  • Continuing education credits/ administrative credits

APNs receive advanced training and education through a formal system of licensure, accreditation, certification, and education (LACE). APNs are registered nurses with specialized knowledge, advanced decision-making skills, complex health assessment skills, clinical reasoning skills, and high levels of professional competence. APNs assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment and provide specialty consultation services if needed (Sánchez-Gómez et al., 2019). APNs provide high-quality and patient-centered care which are easily accessible and affordable. They help in reducing health care expenditure, decrease wait times, and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions (Hu & Forgeron, 2018).

 

References

 

Barnes H. (2015). Exploring the Factors that Influence Nurse Practitioner Role Transition. The journal for nurse practitioners : JNP11(2), 178–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2014.11.004

Hu, J., & Forgeron, P. (2018). Thinking, educating, acting: Developing advanced practice nursing. International journal of nursing sciences5(2), 99–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2018.04.006

Sánchez-Gómez, M. B., Ramos-Santana, S., Gómez-Salgado, J., Sánchez-Nicolás, F., Moreno-Garriga, C., & Duarte-Clíments, G. (2019). Benefits of Advanced Practice Nursing for Its Expansion in the Spanish Context. International journal of environmental research and public health16(5), 680. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16050680