What’s a Nurse Practitioner?
At Spora Health we’ve assembled and are continuing to build a diverse lineup of primary care providers who have exceptional medical skills, have been trained in how to deliver and expand culturally competent healthcare, and can be seen virtually. Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are a vital and important part of delivering that care and increasing access to high-quality and radically inclusive care. However, like a lot of things in healthcare, many people don’t understand what a NP is, the training they have, and the role they can play in your ongoing care.
What is a Nurse Practitioner?
Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) who can provide primary and specialty healthcare to patients across the lifespan. In addition to providing general care, NPs generally play a greater role in patient education and counseling, focusing more on the well-being of the whole person and illness prevention. For all of these reasons and more, NPs are quickly becoming the health partner of choice for millions of Americans
NPs are able to meet general primary care functions including, but not limited to:
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Take your medical history
Conduct physical exams
Diagnose and treat illness
Order and interpret tests
Develop treatment plans
Prescribe medication
Advise on preventive care
Provide surgical assistance and critical care
What kind of education do NPs have?
Most nurse practitioners start out practicing as registered nurses (RNs) having some healthcare experience before moving into the required master's or doctoral degree program, usually taking 2 years. NP master’s programs consist of both classroom education (500 hours) and clinical rotations (500 to 700 hours) and are rooted in a nursing model, as opposed to the medical model of physician assistant and physician programs. The nursing model focuses more on holistic care of the individual and their support system, whereas the medical model focuses on the disease, taking into account a broader understanding of health and illness. After completing their education, NPs must sit for a certification examination state licensure.
Are NPs able to deliver primary care?
Without a doubt. Nurse practitioner education, specialized training, and clinical experience prepare them to practice in primary care, acute care and long-term health care settings. In fact, it’s estimated that 1.06 billion visits are made to nurse practitioners every year and patients report extremely high levels of satisfaction with their care. They’ve even been shown to have similar outcomes when compared to physicians. What set’s NPs apart in the medical field is their unique focus on health promotion, education and counseling to guide patients to make lifestyle changes that can lower long term costs, and help you reach your health goals. patients' out-of-pocket costs. Additionally, because of how quickly the medical field changes. Additionally NPs specialize in areas like acute care, emergency medicine, midwifery, women’s health, oncology, and mental health.
State medical boards do not regulate nurse practitioner licensure the same across the U.S., but in 24 states NPs have full practice environments allowing them to evaluate patients, diagnose, order and interpret diagnostic tests, initiate and manage treatments, including prescribing medications and controlled substances, under the exclusive licensure authority of the state board of nursing.
Why do we have NPs?
Nurse practitioners were born out of the need for more primary care providers following 1965 expansions in Medicare and Medicaid that enabled more Americans to get primary care. That shortage persists today as we see our population continue to grow and age with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), estimates that by 2033 we will see a shortage of between 21,400 and 55,200 primary care physicians. Nurse practitioners, along with physician assistants, offer quality, cost-effective care that centers the patient and is helping us to make sure that every American can get, be, and stay well.
Meet one of our NPs:
Trace Owens, NP
Where did you attend school?
Angelo State University in San Angelo TX 2016-2019 (Post-Graduate)
University of Texas in El Paso 2013-2015 (Undergraduate)
Where do you currently have hospital privileges?
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare
Where are you From?
Atoka, OK
How did you get into medicine?
I come from a very rural background and a family of farmers and ranchers. I have some family members who are in health care. Most of them were LVNs (Licensed Vocational Nurses) and they worked in community assisted living environments and very small towns. But my family was super non-trusting of healthcare. We never went. It was funny because when I was 32, I actually had one of my first dental visits as an adult. And I thought back and I was like, oh my gosh. The last time I actually saw a dentist was when I was eight and I only went to the doctor once when I broke my arm. And so we just didn't have access and the whole trust thing. And so I come from that, I can totally relate with a lot of the patients that Spora is reaching out to because of that.
So that kind of actually got me into health care because I was a firefighter for a long time in a small rural town and central Texas. And every time we would go to people's homes, there was just this distaste and distrust for us because we were a little aggressive as firefighters. We were only trying to do what we'd been trained to do and provide the best care, but I really enjoyed the ambulance and started getting into the health care part. I think that's what really drove me. I was starting to realize that a lot of stuff that we just didn't know was causing a lot of the illnesses. My grandparents had diabetes and it was because we ate sugar and drank soda all day and we just didn't know.
Why did you decide to become a Nurse Practitioner?
I just wanted to educate people, and that’s what got me into nursing specifically. While I was in nursing I did critical care and emergency room care. That was where I was like, maybe I can start putting bugs in ears to help keep people from winding up in those situations. And so I became an NP. I kept thinking that I needed to figure out a way to educate and to teach people to prevent them from winding up in bad situations. I wanted to keep people from winding up in the ICU where I was treating them for terrible strokes or from diabetes or complications from cardiac diseases and pulmonary diseases. I wanted to eventually find a way to provide access.
How has becoming a more culturally competent provider with Spora health changed the way you practice?
I have learned that there is such incredible diversity and I have to take into so much consideration about each person as an individual to provide care. I want to learn more about people’s identities so that I'm not unintentionally discrediting them and can provide them the respect that they deserve. patients.
Are you ready to start your healthcare journey with a culturally competent primary care provider? Sign up for Spora Health today and book an appointment.
