Present and Future Opportunities for Nurse Practitioners

Nurse practitioners (NP) are advanced practice registered nurses who provide patients
with primary care. Due to their advanced education, they are able to perform tasks that are
usually associated with physicians. These tasks include diagnosing conditions, prescribing
medications, and treating illnesses (Fraze, 2020). Growth in demand for nurse practitioners is
one of the highest among all occupations. The rise in demand is going to increase the already
large numbers of opportunities for nurse practitioners.

One of the factors that has led to the creation of many opportunities for nurse
practitioners is their ability to perform tasks that physicians usually perform, often at reduced
cost (Rosenberg, 2018). Thus, a shortage of physicians creates a huge demand for nurse
practitioners since they perform similar tasks. It is estimated that by 2025, there will be a
shortage of 90,000 physicians (Heiser, 2019). This shortage will occur at a time when there is
increased demand for healthcare services. The Affordable Care Act enabled over 20 million
previously uninsured people to get health insurance. Additionally, it is estimated that the
number of senior citizens is likely to increase by over 40% in next decade (Heiser, 2019).
These two factors will need to a large increase in the number of people requiring healthcare
services. With physician numbers unable to meet demand, there will be a big increase in
demand for nurse practitioners to work in primary care settings since they perform similar
roles as physicians (Fraze, 2020). The increase in demand for nurse practitioners is especially
likely to be strong in rural areas where shortage of physicians is already dire (Barnes et al.,
2018). Given that my region has large number of rural communities, there is likely to be
massive increase in opportunities for nurse practitioners.

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Another factor that has contributed to availability of large number of opportunities
for nurse practitioners is their flexibility. Nurse practitioners can specialize in a wide range of
fields that include women’s health, family care, and psychiatry (Barnes et al., 2018). Thus,
nurse practitioners can work in schools, pediatric mental health institutions, and adult
psychiatric mental health facilities. They can also practice as family nurses. Thus, the
specialization of nurse practitioners allows them to work in so many fields in my region.

These opportunities are available to all nurse practitioners regardless of their years of
experience but the benefits increase with years of one’s experience. For instance, some of the
benefits that NPs enjoy include paid vacation, health insurance, and professional liability
insurance. Depending on one’s employer, these benefits can be extremely generous.

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References

Barnes, H., Richards, M., McHugh, M. & Martsolf, G. (2018). Rural and nonrural primary
care physician practices increasingly rely on nurse practitioners. Health Aff
(Millwood). 37(6): 908-914. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2017.1158.
Fraze, T., Briggs, A., Whitcomb, E., Peck, A., & Meara, E. (2020). Role of Nurse
Practitioners in Caring for Patients With Complex Health Needs. Med Care.
58(10):853-860. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000001364.
Heiser, S. (2019). New Findings Confirm Predictions on Physician Shortage. Association of
American Medical Colleges.
Rosenberg, J. (2018). Nurse Practitioners Play an Increasing Role in Primary Care. American
Journal of Managed Care.