APN Professional Development Plan

APN Professional Development Plan May 27, 2021 APN Professional Development Plan The APN’s scope of practice or nurse practice acts are guidelines that specifies what an advanced practice nurse (APN) can legally perform within their profession, it also ensures that the nurse is able to execute duties accordingly. While performing in the accepted scope the professional should practice with competency and quality leadership skills. The scope and standards of practice for an APN in the state of Mississippi where I intend to practice with the core competency for nurse practitioners, and essential leadership skills required for an APN would be further discussed. APN Scope of Practice The Mississippi board of nursing is the body that regulates and enforces the nurse practice act in Mississippi. Educational Requirements and Licensure According to the Mississippi board of nursing a prospective APN must have successfully graduated from an approved master’s degree program and acquired appropriate clinical experiences. This proves that they are ready and able to perform intended APN roles. The APN would require certification and must pass the national certification exam by the appropriate certifying body of their discipline. The APN would also need to ensure continued certification by maintaining requirements set by the certifying agency. In the state of Mississippi to be certified, the APN must complete 720 clinically supervised hours by either an APRN or a physician (How to Become a Nurse Practitioner in Mississippi: APRN Certification in Mississippi 2020). Regulatory Requirements The state of Mississippi requires the APN to maintain 40 hours of clinical contact of continuing education in their appropriate specialty. Licenses are renewed the December of every even year or every 2 years. The APRN and RN license are to be renewed together (Become Nurse In Mississippi + Requirements & Licensing, 2020). Practice and Prescriptive Authority The state of Mississippi does not allow the nurse practitioner (NP) full practice. They allow limited or restrictive practice in that NPs cannot establish their own practice; they must collaborate with a physician. The said physician has to be in a 75mile radius from the nurse practitioners’ location (How to Become a Nurse Practitioner in Mississippi: APRN Certification in Mississippi, 2020). The state of Mississippi allows the nurse practitioner prescriptive authority of medications and narcotics because approved master’s programs teach advanced pharmacology. The advanced nurse practitioner must have also completed the supervised 720 hours of clinical practice and must be registered with the DEA before they can apply for their Controlled Substances Prescriptive Authority (CSPA). After meeting the requirements and acquiring certification, the advanced nurse practitioner can then operate independently but cannot establish an independent practice. If a practitioner has the controlled substance prescriptive authority, they must perform 2 contact hours of pharmacology on controlled substance from the 40 hours of continuing education to renew their license every 2 years (Become Nurse In Mississippi + Requirements & Licensing, 2020). Nurse Practitioner (NONPF) Core Competencies Strengths and Weaknesses The national organization of nurse practitioner faculties (2017), highlights some core competency guidelines that APNs should possess to help elevate their practice. Among the core competencies some of the areas I excel at are the ethical competency and a strong scientific foundation. The use of ethics in patient care is a very important nursing quality because nursing is a practice of ethics and the use of nursing ethics such as honesty, justice, non-maleficence, beneficence, respect for patient’s autonomy and many more are the foundation of nursing which I strive to uphold. I incorporate ethics in my decision making and evaluate decisions and interventions through the use of nursing ethics to ensure that I am providing competent care. I also employ nursing ethics in solving complex issues. The use of ethics incorporates the use of evidence-based practice and nursing scope of practice in patients care which helps to avoid unnecessary clinical errors. Another core competency that I excel at is the use of strong scientific foundation. Science integrates knowledge from all subjects of life like humanity, sociology, chemistry, pharmacology, biology and other subjects to bring a congruent knowledge in practical nursing. Science subjects has always been my strongest suits and my love for sciences created a thirst for deeper knowledge and a more solid foundation in sciences which makes its integration into nursing seemingly easy and enjoyable. A strong scientific foundation encourages the use of scientific process and evidence-based practice in nursing. It also helps to improve critical thinking and analysis of patient condition while encouraging the uses of evidence-based solution and scientific research (National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, 2017). Technology and information literacy which is the use of technological resources in patients care is one of the competency areas I need to better improve myself. I had a late exposure to technology because I did not learn a lot about computer in grade and high school in my country. I do not consider myself computer proficient and I am still learning about technology. Telehealth is being used more since the COVID-19 started and has become the new normal for interacting with patients and as a provider, I would have to be proficient in the use of technology. Another core competency area that needs improvement is my leadership skills. I am a people’s person and sometimes it can be difficult for me to take charge and be assertive. I desire to make others happy and if my being in the leadership position would cause friction then I avoid such situations. As a nurse practitioner I would have to take up leadership positions when situations are pleasant and when they are not. Ethical decisions that are potentials conflicting would arise between fellow professionals, patients, and patients’ families. Leadership is equally important for advocacy, and I am working on building my leadership skills (National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, 2017). Activities for Improvements To improve my competency in technology and information literacy I took some health policy and research classes in college, and I am still taking personal online class on health policy and research. I work PRN at a clinic where the doctor uses telehealth often and lets me interact with the patients via telehealth. Also, the use of my agency’s EMR has helped to improve my knowledge some more. I plan to read research and health policy journals that would help in the improvement of my technological competency while to improve my leadership skills I have been reading journals about effective leaderships styles and effective conflict resolution. I am also trying to find a mentor that is preferably an APN to mentor my leadership skills. Leadership Skills Leadership skills are essential to an APN’s practice because as an advanced nurse practitioner, leadership is required and not limited to patient care coordination, crisis management, teamwork, and collaboration with colleagues. Some leadership skills that are important for an APN to lead within complex systems are clinical leadership skill, professional leadership skills, and health system leadership skills. Clinical leadership skills entail the promotion of health and care management through the use of evidence-based practice. The advanced practice nurse is called to be a clinical leader because the basis of patient care is the use of clinical knowledge through critical thinking to develop and execute effective and efficient patient care. A clinical leader evaluates scientific systems to determine the best avenue of care for patients. They also collaborate with other health care professional to implement their established care plan for their patients. A clinical leader must equally lead the development and effective application of standards of practice while ensuring quality health execution (Wood, 2021). A Professional leader is responsible for their personal professional development and practice advancements. As a professional leader the APN is always seeking for professional betterment because after certification new illnesses and challenges would still arise that the APN would have to be prepared to manage. Effective management can only be achieved by a professional leader. A professional leader engages in networking both locally and internationally. A professionally skillful APN also seeks to influence healthcare changes in complex systems while a health system leader helps to improve performance and dynamics in the healthcare system. The APN as a health system leader is one that delegates and oversees the implementation of care while anticipating challenges that may arise. The APN health system leader is a nurse that is knowledgeable about the professional scope of practice and those of other healthcare professionals that impacts his/her practice (Wood, 2021). The importance of leadership skills in the APN’s practice is unquantifiable and as such these skills should be cultivated and upkept. One of the ways to improve leadership skills is by continuing education by taking up leadership courses, continued learning through health journals, and continued education or CEUs. Another way to improve leadership skills is by getting a leadership mentor and or engaging in like minded society that participates in peerreview of publications and research (Wood, 2021). Conclusion In conclusion, the state of Mississippi has set scope and standard of practice for the advanced nurse practitioner that guides the practice of the professional in the execution of standard nursing care. To provide quality practice the APN must incorporate the use of the nurse practitioner core competency and effective leadership skill to practice efficiently and provide cost effective quality care.