The changing workforce
As an experienced RN, you may know the future of the workforce is changing — and not just because of the looming nursing/physician shortage. Millennials now make up the largest segment of the workforce, filling the void left by retiring baby boomers, according to Pew Research Center. With the influx of novice talent on the horizon, healthcare organizations need nurse practitioners with the knowledge and skills to function autonomously now more than ever.
The rewards of the profession
Job satisfaction among nurse practitioners is high due to factors such as environment, work-life balance, and workload. Hiring organizations that wish to meet the growing demand for qualified, well-educated NPs will need to work hard to keep their workplaces inviting.
The new model of healthcare
As healthcare continues to operate more and more like business, hospitals seek to discharge patients as soon as possible to keep healthcare and insurance costs down. The result is an increased need for outpatient facility staffing. Nurse practitioners play a pivotal role in this new model by providing services and wellness education in a variety of primary care and community clinic settings.
The preferred caregiver
Nurse practitioners are quickly becoming accepted as primary caregivers, as evidenced by the fact that Americans make more than 1 billion visits to nurse practitioners every year, according to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Because nurse practitioners take a whole-person approach to patient care, encouraging appropriate medical choices and healthy lifestyle habits, it comes as no surprise that people who opt for the high-quality, patient-centered care of an NP tend to have lower costs, fewer emergency room visits, shorter hospital stays, and lower medication costs.
