Definition of Advanced Practice Nursing Essay
The notion of should be discussed as differing from the idea of the because the definition of the advanced nursing practice is broader and includes not only provision of care but also administration activities (Hamric, Hanson, Tracy, & OGrady, 2013). However, there is also no single definition of advanced practice nursing, and it is important to compare the explanation proposed by the American Association of (AACN) DNP Essentials, the definition provided within the APRN consensus model and the explanation presented by Hamric, Hanson, Tracy, and OGrady, (2013) in their book. All proposed definitions of advanced practice nursing need to be contrasted and discussed in detail, with the focus on their features.
In the DNP Essentials, the AACN defines advanced practice nursing as an approach according to which nurses need to demonstrate their advanced skills and practical expertise. They also need to use the theoretical knowledge while providing care for patients and managing their families, demonstrate the expanded responsibility, use a holistic perspective, and focus on the skillful performance (AACN, 2006, p. 18). According to the APRN consensus model, the main focus is on the role of a nurse in the broad area of advanced practice nursing and on her responsibilities demonstrated as the clinical experience (Consensus Model for APRN regulation, 2008, p. 6). Finally, there is a definition proposed by Hamric and other researchers: is the patient-focused application of an expanded range of competencies to improve health outcomes for patients and populations in a specialized clinical area of the larger discipline of nursing (Hamric et al., 2013, p. 71). This definition is similar to the definition proposed by the AACN in terms of identifying the role of the patient-focused approach and using competencies or advanced skills. However, this definition is not also similar to the variant in the APRN consensus model because of focusing on responsibilities or competencies applied within the specialized area of nursing.
Nevertheless, to focus on the features that are different in the notions, it is important to analyze the factors that are most meaningful in the definition of advanced practice nursing proposed by Hamric et al. (2013). The first factor is the focus on the patient in applying skills and knowledge. In contrast to discussing the specific roles of a nurse, this definition aims to accentuate the role of the patient and his health outcomes in the nurses everyday practice. The other important factor is the focus on a specialized clinical area of the larger discipline of nursing where a nurse should perform instead of concentrating on the broad area of advanced practice nursing (Hamric et al., 2013, p. 71). It is important to state that Hamric et al. (2013) pay attention to the specialized nature of this advanced practice nursing in contrast to the authors of other definitions (Hamric et al., 2013, p. 71). In spite of the fact that competencies can also be viewed as important factors to formulate the definition, the focus on competencies is also expected in the context of two other definitions.
Advanced practice nursing is an important approach to applying theoretical knowledge and skills to practice in different clinical settings. Therefore, definitions of this type of nursing differ. Moreover, much attention should be paid to distinguishing between advanced practice nursing and advanced nursing practice.
