Advanced Practice Nurse

Running head: ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSE 1
Advanced Practice Nurse
Name of Student
Institution

ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSE 2
Advanced Practice Nurse
Introduction
Following a dramatic change in the role of Advanced Practice Nurses (APN), much focus
in the U.S healthcare system is to deliver cost-effective healthcare to each patient. Over the
years, many efforts have been put on reducing medical costs while improving patient outcomes.
One of these efforts entails using cost-effective and evidence-based practices to provide patient
care less expensively. Nurse practitioners are critical in quality healthcare provision (AANP,
2013). Therefore, healthcare providers are required to demonstrate consciousness to cost-
effective treatment. Following the many many changes in healthcare such as limited
reimbursement; inadequate access; stress on high productivity; and cost-effectiveness, APNs
should critically think through ways and mechanisms to provide care in a manner that meets
evidence-based criteria and cost-effectiveness.
Environment matters
A healthy working environment is important in nursing practice. It minimizes medical
errors, enhances job satisfaction, patient safety, and nurse outcomes. According to Wei et al.
(2018), providing better working conditions for nurses enhances their professionalism and
quality of practice. As a result, nurses experienced reduced burnouts and increased job
satisfaction.
Stress levels among nurses correspond to their workload. Therefore, efficient staffing and
the provision of conducive environments for nurses reduce stress levels. In healthcare, high staff
turnover rates have been considered one of the most significant problems. In the U.S. hospitals,

ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSE 3
there is a 15% – 36% staff turnover among nurses annually. According to Dyrbye et al. (2017),
there are more excellent turnover rates among nurses compared to other healthcare professionals,
averaging 2.3% on an annual basis.
Interestingly, staff turnover corresponds to job satisfaction. According to Dorigan and de
Brito Guirardello (2017), “healthy work environments have a positive relationship with nurses’
perceptions of their autonomy, control over practice, nurse-physician relationships, and
organizational support.” Thus, unhealthy work environments lead to dissatisfaction among
nurses, burnout, and intention to leave (Wei et al., 2018). Nurse leaders should, therefore,
critically check staffing levels as well as the level of satisfaction among their nurses to enhance
positive outcomes.
Quality initiatives
Several efforts have been put to ensure there are quality improvements in healthcare.
Several organizations such as the Institute of Medicine (IOM) have been involved in a long-term
initiative geared towards improving the quality of healthcare. The American Academy of
Nursing Expert Panel has significantly been involved in the development of initiatives, including
patient-centered, safe, equitable, timely, and efficient patient care. Moreover, the American
Nurses Association (ANA) has developed and tested a report on the quality indicators in nursing
practice. The scorecard includes patient satisfaction, patient education, and pain management as
well as the rate of injuries to patients (Murray, Sundin & Cope, 2018). All these approaches are
geared toward improving the quality of healthcare. Nurses are critical at the implementation of
such initiatives.