Over the past 30 years, primary care has been central to every healthcare delivery innovation. But today, the profession needs help with record burnout rates and attrition.
Despite this, new entrants are marketing concierge care that provides immediate access to PCPs via virtual visits. Telemedicine and artificial intelligence are poised to optimize administrative workflows such as billing, coding, and claims submissions.
What is a Family Nurse Practitioner?
As healthcare evolves, nurse practitioners become more prominent as a solid alternative to doctors. Family nurse practitioners are licensed healthcare professionals who can treat patients with acute and chronic health conditions after obtaining a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN).
FNPs provide comprehensive care for patients of all ages, including performing routine checkups and personalized counseling on healthy lifestyle practices. Additionally, they help manage patients’ chronic illnesses and coordinate care with specialty physicians.
They can work in many settings, including hospitals, private clinics, and doctor’s offices. In some states, Family nurse practitioners are also allowed to open their practice, which gives them the flexibility to choose their hours and locations. In addition, they can perform physical examinations and diagnostic tests and prescribe medications. That makes them a vital part of the healthcare team and a solid alternative to primary care physicians.
How to Become a Family Nurse Practitioner
Becoming a Family nurse practitioner requires a high level of dedication and commitment. Registered nurses pursuing this advanced nursing role must earn their BSN from an accredited university program and work as registered nurses (RNs) for a few years.
Family nurse practitioner online programs offer master ‘s-level nurses the opportunity to explore critical healthcare topics while developing the skills to provide effective patient care. Many programs include on-campus intensives, where students can apply their learning in real-life healthcare settings.
The Future of Family Nurse Practitioners
In recent years, many industry-transforming changes have converged to alter how and where primary care is delivered. These include rising costs, consumerism, labor shortages, demographic shifts, and digital disruption.
As a result, traditional fee-for-service providers could lose up to 30% of their market share by 2030. In contrast, innovative, nontraditional models focused on improving patient outcomes and experiences will likely claim a third of the pie.
These new primary care entrants will also focus on enabling physician teams to deliver comprehensive services within their existing clinic infrastructure. They will leverage telemedicine and other digital technologies to enable more comprehensive patient monitoring between in-person visits.
In addition, healthcare systems will shift their strategy from acquiring primary care practices to forming partnerships. They will identify the APCs with high-performing care delivery and cost outcomes and seek to become their preferred partner. Increasingly, private equity and venture capital-backed companies will emerge as significant market disrupters. They will invest in APCs and build various other services to support them.
Online Family Nurse Practitioner Programs
Online programs provide a flexible alternative for busy professionals who wish to pursue their graduate nursing degree without putting their professional careers on hold. Online FNP programs allow students to study from anywhere with an internet connection, whether at home or work.
Many schools also offer a variety of online learning resources to support their students, including virtual libraries, tutoring services, and digital study materials. It helps ensure students have the tools to succeed in their program, regardless of location or schedule.
Online student networks effectively combat feelings of isolation and foster community among students. Through online discussion forums, social networking opportunities, and in-person events, students can connect with fellow nurses from various backgrounds and locations, building invaluable professional relationships that can impact their careers long after graduation.