In a hospital setting, a hospitalist nurse practitioner works as an advanced nurse. Nurse practitioners are nurses with a higher level of education than registered nurses (RN). Hospitalist nurse practitioners have advanced degrees that enable them to perform tasks that traditional nurses cannot. In a nutshell, a nurse practitioner is a hybrid of a nurse and a doctor.
When a patient first arrives at the hospital, they will usually meet with a hospitalist nurse practitioner to discuss their health concerns. This includes a discussion of the patient’s medical history as well as a physical examination. A hospitalist nurse practitioner can also order tests and other procedures to aid in the diagnosis of the patient’s problem.
The hospitalist nurse practitioner may be able to diagnose the patient based on the information from the physical exam or test results. The hospitalist nurse practitioner can also prescribe medication or refer the patient to a specialist who can treat the patient’s specific disease, illness, or problem once the patient has been diagnosed. Some states make it illegal for a nurse practitioner to write prescriptions, so this is a state-by-state issue.
In most cases, a hospitalist nurse practitioner works as part of a medical team. A primary doctor, residents, nurses, and even other nurse practitioners make up the team. In a hospital setting, the team assists one another in diagnosing, treating, and caring for patients. Each team has its own dynamic and must work in accordance with state laws governing the licensing of medical personnel, including nurse practitioners.
In some cases, doctors allow the nurse practitioner to perform any task that would normally be performed a doctor. In other cases, the doctor will let the nurse practitioner perform all of the tasks that a doctor would, but the doctor will still come in at the end of the diagnosis to discuss and sign off on the nurse practitioner’s findings — just as a second check or diagnosis.
Nurse practitioners also provide counseling and advice to patients and their families. Counseling and advice are typically provided on both a medical and emotional level. During the patient’s hospital stay, the nurse practitioner gets to know the patient and their families well enough to help them understand the illness or disease and their options for treating it or caring for the patient to make them as comfortable as possible.