NPSchools.com Nursing Features

The nurse practitioner profession is growing at a rapid pace. And with growth comes change. Today’s nurse practitioners are dealing with staff shortages in rural areas, changes in educational standards, and battles for wider practice authority in select states. What will tomorrow’s nurse practitioners be concerned with? Our interview-based features and in-depth resource guides uncover the stories behind the big issues by talking to nurse practitioners who know the subject best.

An Expert’s Bona Fide Guide: Life as a Forensic NP

December 19, 2024 – Matt Zbrog

Forensic nurse practitioners (NPs) combine the nursing, forensic, and legal sciences to bring safety, medical treatment, and justice to their patients. Within a specialized practice setting, they apply a core forensic nursing education that informs a holistic, patient-centered, trauma-aware approach to the traditional NP role.

Pros and Cons of Being a Psychiatric-Mental Health NP

November 26, 2024 – Sophia Khawly, MSN

Psych NPs require empathy, integrity, and a good understanding of medicine and healthcare. They can work in various settings such as hospitals, mental health centers, corrections, addiction centers, or private practice. There are many advantages and disadvantages of working as a psych NP.

Guide to Nurse Practitioner Conferences (2025)

November 25, 2024 – Becca Brewer, MEd

Many NP conferences work to expand the recognition of the importance of the NP role in healthcare, connect NPs to one another to create advocacy and business partnerships and provide NPs with the continuing education needed to maintain active board certification.

Day in the Life of a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner (NP)

November 14, 2024 – Matt Zbrog

Psychiatric-mental health NPs are trained to provide a wide range of mental health services in various settings. They assess and diagnose patients, prescribe medications, and collaborate with other medical and non-medical professionals in providing care. Throughout, they apply the holistic approach that’s characteristic of all NPs and which is particularly valuable in psychiatry and mental health.

What to Ask When Shadowing a Nurse Practitioner

October 30, 2024 – Sophia Khawly, MSN

They can learn to make clinical decisions and provide patient-centered and safe care. They can learn how to transition information taught in class into a practice environment. They can understand how to navigate complex patients and challenging decision-making.

Ask a Professor: How Florida’s NPs Are Fighting for Full Practice Authority

October 3, 2024 – Matt Zbrog

Florida’s nurse practitioners are highly trained healthcare providers who are adept at diagnosing illnesses, prescribing medicines, and treating diseases in both acute and primary care settings.

Day in the Life of a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (NP)

September 27, 2024 – Matt Zbrog

Women’s health is a specialty practice area that continues to grow and evolve. Advocacy and social justice are baked into its DNA. WHNPs take a truly holistic approach to care, considering the relationships between class, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation when treating their patients.

Day in the Life of an Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner (NP)

September 24, 2024 – Sophia Khawly, MSN

Aesthetic NPs work in outpatient settings such as medical spas or private practice clinics. They inject dermal fillers or Botox to improve the appearance of wrinkles and crow’s feet. They also perform laser therapy, such as tattoo removal and laser hair removal. Additionally, they provide skin treatments such as facials, microdermabrasion, and chemical peels.

Top Reasons to Start an Online MSN Program

August 28, 2024 – Sophia Khawly, MSN

Pursuing an online MSN program can be flexible and allow RNs to keep their full-time jobs. Nowadays, nurses can easily find accredited and respectable online MSN programs. These programs allow nurses to become advanced practice clinicians or transition into a career in leadership or education.

Ask a Professor: The NP Practice Environment in Minnesota

August 16, 2024 – Matt Zbrog

Minnesota is one of 24 states that has granted its nurse practitioners (NPs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) full practice authority. First passed in legislation in 2014 and enacted in 2015, full practice authority in Minnesota has drastically improved healthcare access.