Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners: Salary, career path, job outlook, education and more

Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners, also referred to as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), coordinate patient care and may provide primary and specialty healthcare. The scope of practice varies from state to state.

What do Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners do?

Advanced practice registered nurses typically do the following:

• Take and record patients' medical histories and symptoms
• Perform physical exams and observe patients
• Create patient care plans or contribute to existing plans
• Perform and order diagnostic tests
• Operate and monitor medical equipment
• Diagnose various health problems
• Analyze test results or changes in a patients condition, and alter treatment plans, as needed
• Give patients medicines and treatments
• Evaluate a patients response to medicines and treatments
• Consult with doctors and other healthcare professionals, as needed
• Counsel and teach patients and their families how to stay healthy or manage their illnesses or injuries
• Conduct research

APRNs work independently or in collaboration with physicians. In most states, they can prescribe medications, order medical tests, and diagnose health problems. APRNs may provide primary and preventive care and may specialize in care for certain groups of people, such as children, pregnant women, or patients with mental health disorders.

Some APRN duties are the same as those for registered nurses, including gathering information about a patients condition and taking action to treat or manage the patients health. However, APRNs are trained to perform many additional functions, including ordering and evaluating test results, referring patients to specialists, and diagnosing and treating ailments. APRNs focus on patient-centered care, which means understanding a patients concerns and lifestyle before choosing a course of action.

APRNs also may conduct research or teach staff about new policies or procedures. Others may provide consultation services based on a specific field of knowledge, such as oncology, which is the study of cancer.

The following are types of APRNs: