The Role Of The Nurse Practitioner (NP)
What is a Nurse Practitioner (NP)?
Our Nurse Practitioners (NP) are registered nurses who have advanced education and clinical training in Endocrine care. Our Nurse Practitioners are nationally certified and serve as health care providers across the continuum of care from healthy follow-up visits to illness.
What are Nurse Practitioners trained to do?
- Take and review your Medical History
- Perform Physical Examinations
- Write prescriptions
- Order and interpret laboratory tests and diagnostic studies
- Perform pre-operative assessments
- Coordinate health care services
- Advise on diet and nutritional regimens
- Interpret the Resting Metabolic Rate test
- Interpret CGMS (continuous glucose monitoring system)
- Interpret ABI (ankle-brachial index – measure of peripheral vascular disease)
- Make insulin adjustments
The “Team Approach” and the role of the NP
The NPs at Diabetes and Metabolism are an integral part of delivering high quality patient care. They are experienced clinical providers with extensive nursing and NP experience. The NPs work closely with the Physicians at Diabetes and Metabolism to advance their clinical skills and expand their expertise in the field of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism. Our NPs are required to attend yearly National Conferences in the specialty of Endocrinology. They also attend workshops and continuing education on procedures, interpretation of results and new pharmacologic options for our patients. Our NPs have immediate face-to-face access to physician consultation if required for difficult or unusual case presentations. The NP’s role is to assist in the implementation, monitoring and if necessary the adjustment of the plan of action set by the physician. For patients that require frequent monitoring, the NP is trained to carry out the treatment plan is also trained to communicate to the physician if changes may be needed. In this way, the patient can be monitored by a highly trained provider in the field of endocrinology under the guidance of Board Certified physicians.