Week 3 project -Professional Practice

Introduction

Candace Simmons is a Family Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified (FNP-BC) by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Candace works as a nephrology advanced nurse practitioner and is involved in various aspects of the renal therapy and what these specialists do is as distinctive as they are. Advanced practitioners (AP) include clinical nurse specialists (CNS), physician assistants (PA) and nurse practitioners (Hamric 2014). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of role of Candace Simmons as a nephrology nurse, address the questions which were asked to interview her and highlight the qualifications of an Advanced Nephrology Registered Nurse (APRN)

Role of Candace Simmons

While Candace participates in caring for renal patients, her responsibilities cover the entire spectrum of nephrology. As an advanced nurse practitioner, Candice is a provider of nephrology clinics and chronic kidney disease (CKD) clinics. Besides, she rounds in peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis clinic. Her duties here include providing for patient needs and writing and modifying dialysis prescriptions. Candice is also involved in transplantation often seeing patients in transplant and potential donors in the evaluation and making a follow up with the patient after transplant in the clinic and hospital. Also, Candace is involved in providing educational programs for patients as well as their families and sick ones. Often, Candace delivers primary care for chronic kidney disease in stage 3, 4 and 5 patients who need frequent visits. There Candace provides the necessary follow-up care. 

Type of Organization

Candace works at a nephrology office which where she sees acute and chronic renal failure, dialysis patients. The nephrology office serves about 2300 individuals per year. This statistics are reflect the number of patients which can be served in a standard nephrology office in a year. Nephrology offers Candice the opportunity to use skills and knowledge in a variety of settings. In her facility, where the need for nephrology is great and the number of providers small, Candace provides an answer to the growing need. As a highly motivated and educated health practitioner, Candice fills the void to the advantage of patients and physicians alike.

Interview Questions

The interview with Candace Simmons involved various concepts to generate a holistic view of nephrology profession. Different forms of questions such as interpreting questions, direct questions, and indirect questions. Example of the concepts used during the interview included the use of open-ended questions, understanding the background of the interviewee, as well as maintaining neutrality and clarity. The foundation for the questions included patient care and individual opinions on how the practice of nephrology can be improved to encourage safety and delivery of quality nephrology care and giving insight into professional development in nursing. The interview questions are included in table 1 in the Appendix.

Qualifications for Advanced Nephrology Registered Nurse (APRN)

The APRN in nephrology is a registered nurse prepared at the doctorate and the master’s level as a Clinical Nurse Specialist or Nurse Practice. To pursue the nephrology specialty, the nurse practitioner is required to get certification through the Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission (NNCC). The NNCC works alongside the Accreditation Board for Nursing Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC) and the American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS) to develop criteria for this certification (Kao, 2015). Besides, To become a Certified Nephrology Nurse-Nurse Practitioner (CNN-NP) a nurse must complete a minimum of 15 hours of continuing education in nephrology nursing, complete a minimum 2000 hours of nephrology nursing care in two years before application and have an unrestricted nursing license in the United States (Baker, 2016). 

Conclusion

Candace Simmons is a Family Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified (FNP-BC) who works as an advanced practice nephrology nurse. While Candace participates in caring for renal patients, her responsibilities cover the entire spectrum of nephrology. Her duties include providing for patient needs and writing and modifying dialysis prescriptions. To pursue the nephrology specialty, the nurse practitioner is required to get certification through the Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission (NNCC). The NNCC works alongside the Accreditation Board for Nursing Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC) and the American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS) to develop criteria for this certification.  

Appendix:

Table 1:

Questions

 Kindly describe your professional journey and experience towards advancing into the field of nephrology. What prompted you to join the field of nursing and specifically nephrology against all other specialties?

Description

 This question sought the professional development of Candace’s career and what inspired her to join the field of nursing.

 Tell me about the specialty of nephrology. What is the current state (Education and training, practice and human resource) of the profession in the country?

Here the interviewer aimed to seek clarification about the specialty of nephrology which Candace is engaged in.

 Chronic diseases are a major challenge to the health system. What are some of the common ones that you come across in the line of duty?

This question prompted Candice to highlight common chronic diseases she encounters during her practice.

 Have you ever thought of writing a journal, book or an article about your practice, life or nephrology in particular?

The interviewer here wanted to know whether Candace has been involved in research before.

 What specific rare condition have you come across in nephrology practice? How did you manage the condition?

This question seeks to address management of renal conditions. The question seeks to find clarification on the best management of nephrology conditions.

 What would you describe as your greatest accomplishment within your professional journey?

Here the interviewer wants to know Candace’s progress in her profession.

 I have come across patients who refuse treatment or do not want to adhere to treatment. How do you communicate to patients (especially the stubborn ones) and make them accept intense treatment procedures like dialysis?

This question seeks to highlight challenges likely to be encountered in nephrology nursing.

 Most professions within the field of health are considered tiresome, burdensome since at times you flex beyond your muscle to cater for a patient. How do you lessen the challenges that come with care provision? What do you do to get relaxation? What is your hobby?

In this question, the interviewer seeks to identify ways of managing challenges which Candace experiences in her profession.

 What or who is your source of inspiration and motivation in your daily life and practice?

This is a personal question aimed at knowing Candace source of inspiration.

 According to you what could be the future of nephrology? What are the gray areas that need advancements through research?

This question seeks to identify weak areas in nephrology nursing practice.

 References

1. Baker, C. (2016). Advanced Practice Nursing Roles, Education, and Future Trends. Canadian Perspectives on Advanced Practice Nursing, 324.
2. Hamric, A. B., Hanson, C. M., Tracy, M. F., and O'Grady, E. T. (2014). Advanced practice nursing: An integrative approach. (5th ed.). Saunders.
3. Kao, Y. S. (2015). Nephrology advanced practice registered nurse health policy: where are we? What is our future? Nephrology Nursing Journal, 42(3), 289.