Differentiating ANP & APN: A Comprehensive Analysis of Nursing Roles

This essay elucidates the differences between Advanced Nursing Practice (ANP) and Advanced Practice Nursing (APN), highlighting that while both aim for improved healthcare outcomes, they differ in their premises of activities and contributions. ANPs possess greater autonomy in decision-making,...Read More

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Difference between Advanced Nursing Practice (ANP) and Advanced Practice Nursing
(APN)
The difference between the advanced nursing practice (ANP) and advanced practice
nursing (APN) lies in the premises of activities and contributions of the graduate level nurses.
Advanced nursing practitioners are educated in advanced practice and they are always
assessed as the competent in practice who utilize their expert knowledge and skills to ensure
a best performance (Bryant‐Lukosius et al., 2016). ANPs have freedom as well as authority
of making autonomous decision in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of the patients.
The evolution of ANP has been influenced by the change in the healthcare delivery. For the
successful development as well as the implementation of policies, effective ANP support and
regulatory standards are required. According to the researchers, advanced nursing practice
extends beyond their predefined roles and they need to perform lots of additional activities in
order to ensure a safe and improved care (Swan, Ferguson, Chang, Larson & Smaldone,
2015). Even, some other studies stated that the role of ANPs has been articulated as the
constellation of sub-roles of clinicians, researchers, educators and consultants. On the other
hand, advanced practice nursing (APN) is a part of nursing practice and they often provide
healthcare to the under-served population. Advanced practice nurses obtain health histories
and perform comprehensive physical examinations of the patient to determine issues. Also,
they maintain patient records, develop differential diagnoses, provide family counselling,
participate in research studies, and others. Nursing is indeed a practice discipline and trying
to different the two groups of nurses may strengthen the discipline more. APNs basically play
the role of advanced nursing practice. All are heading towards providing better health
outcome moving towards the same directions keeping different perspectives of providing
care. Also, nurses are not practicing their degrees; rather, they identify their profession in
implementing care options for the sake of patients’ health (McDonnell et al., 2015).

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Therefore, they are not different by their degrees but their roles and perspectives of
performing duties in their discipline.
Population served through my Advanced Nursing Practice role
In my Advanced Nursing Practice, I play the role of a Family Nursing practitioner.
Being a Family nursing practitioner (FNP), I care for medically stable patients across age
groups, that includes infant, adolescent, adults as well as older adults. FNPs provide lifelong
and comprehensive care through health education, disease management and other preventive
health services. FNPs need to perform various duties while providing care (Bryant‐Lukosius
et al., 2016). We manage various chronic conditions, oversee the health and wellbeing of
pregnant women, treat minor acute injuries, provide care to infants and children, and also
provide episodic care to the older adults in their chronic illness. We need to work with our
specialists in order to assist them in managing different long term cases of injuries and
illness. In some rural or urban areas of the country, where there is shortage of physicians,
FNP nurses are the sole healthcare providers. FNPs are basically educated at the post
bachelor’s level and thus they are sometimes able to practice autonomously as well as serve
in a primary care role. Therefore, FNPs serve through a variety of populations since the
patients at a family practice might be extremely diverse. FNPs must have the knowledge of
the population of the community to which they serve otherwise they may face several
challenges while providing care. FNPs must acquire a deeper understanding of the
community they serve (Zimmermann & Alfes, 2019). Being a FNP, I also play different role
other than the nurses who work in hospital settings as I need to visit patients with different
needs and cultures from a diverse community. In this regard, being compassionate and
effective in communication is a most important habit for a FNP.
Development of licensure, accreditation, certification, and education plan

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Passing a national certification examination is necessary to qualify for the APRN
licensure as a family health practitioner. American Academy of Nursing Practitioner (AANP)
offer certification examination and all the participants apply as early as six months before
graduation. The nursing practitioners must maintain their national certification as well as
state APRN license by completing clinical practice hours during each renewal cycle. Also, in
order to obtain licensure to work as an FNP, it is important to complete FNP program that has
been accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
(Nursing Times, 2019). As an educational qualification, all the FNPs need to earn high marks
in specific genre such as psychology, anatomy, chemistry and biology in the high school.
They need to pursue a bachelor of science in nursing or a related degree of four years. Also
they are urged to seek out some undergraduate programs accredited by the Accreditation
Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). After that it is important to become a
registered nurse and get 1-2 years of experience (Buerhaus, DesRoches, Dittus & Donelan,
2015). Pursuing a graduate degree of nursing and obtaining certification of FNP-BC from
American Academy of Nurse Practitioner or other organizations is compulsory to become a
FNP.
Investigation of state-specific implication
Under the guidance of National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN),
various influencing nursing organizations are working at the state and national levels. In
many states, the FNPs can practice independently and prescribe medicines without physician
oversight. However, in some other states like California, they cannot prescribe medicines or
if they prescribe, then it should be endorsed by the physicians. Many researchers identified
that FNPs provide a broad range of medical services and treatments in many states (Halman,
Baker & Ng, 2017). However, there is controversy regarding the role of FNPs as it varies
state wise. In Washington, the FPNs enjoy most of the same privileges physicians have.

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Despite the existence of the consensus model, there are disparities in the role of FNPs with
respect to prescriptive authority. Many states are working on it and changing their laws to set
the roles of FNPs in order to regulate their scope of practice (Ljubič, Clark, & Štemberger
Kolnik, 2017). However, it creates challenges for the FNPs as their role varies according to
the state and it creates confusion as well as controversies in their profession. Therefore,
nurses need to follow the state-wise policies while performing their duties in order to set the
limitation area.

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References
Bryant‐Lukosius, D., Spichiger, E., Martin, J., Stoll, H., Kellerhals, S. D., Fliedner, M., ... &
Schwendimann, R. (2016). Framework for evaluating the impact of advanced practice
nursing roles. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 48(2), 201-209.
Buerhaus, P. I., DesRoches, C. M., Dittus, R., & Donelan, K. (2015). Practice characteristics
of primary care nurse practitioners and physicians. Nursing Outlook, 63(2), 144-153.
Halman, M., Baker, L., & Ng, S. (2017). Using critical consciousness to inform health
professions education. Perspectives on medical education, 6(1), 12-20.
Ljubič, A., Clark, D. J., & Štemberger Kolnik, T. (2017). Comparison of family nursing in
Slovenia and Scotland: integrative review. International nursing review, 64(2), 276-
285.
McDonnell, A., Goodwin, E., Kennedy, F., Hawley, K., Gerrish, K., & Smith, C. (2015). An
evaluation of the implementation of Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) roles in an
acute hospital setting. Journal of advanced nursing, 71(4), 789-799.
Nursing Times. (2019). Advanced nursing practice 1: understanding advanced nursing
practice. Retrieved from
https://www.nursingtimes.net/clinical-archive/leadership/advanced-nursing-practice-
1-understanding-advanced-nursing-practice-27-06-2014/
Swan, M., Ferguson, S., Chang, A., Larson, E., & Smaldone, A. (2015). Quality of primary
care by advanced practice nurses: a systematic review. International Journal for
Quality in Health Care, 27(5), 396-404.

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Zimmermann, E., & Alfes, C. M. (2019). Simulating the Role of the Parent: Promoting
Family-Centered Nursing Care. Nursing education perspectives, 40(2), 121-122.