Week 7 - APN Plan - Running head APN PROFESSIONAL...

Running head: APN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1
APN Professional Development Plan
Toni Detwiler
Chamberlain College of Nursing
Course Number: NR510
January 2016

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APN Professional Development Plan
An advanced practice nurse (APN) are nurses who have a master’s, post master’s or
doctoral degree in a nursing specialty and, depending on the state, can practice medicine without
the supervision of a physician. APNs assess, diagnose, treat, prescribe, transcribe results, educate
and manage illness (Scope of practice for nurse practitioners, 2015). The role of the advanced
practice nurse (APN) is advancing globally and opportunities are consistently expanding. The
global goal for the APN is the right to diagnose, prescribe medication, prescribe treatments, the
ability to refer to other professionals, and admit to hospitals (Kleinpell et al., 2014). The
additional education that APNs obtain helps to provide the necessary knowledge and clinical
competence to provide the proper care in various settings (Scope of practice for nurse
practitioners, 2015).
APN Scope of Practice - State of Michigan
A scope of practice defines the who, what, where, when, how and why of nursing
practice. It outlines regulations and gives guidance to ensure professionalism and ethics. In
Michigan, APNs do not have their own act. The scope of practice for APNs are consolidated
under one health act, along with 25 other health occupations. The scope of practice for APNs
varies from state to state. Michigan is considered a restricted state. The American Association of
Nurse Practitioners (AANP) defines a restricted practice as follows (2016):
State practice and licensure law restricts the ability of a nurse practitioner to engage in at
least one element of ANP practice. State requires supervision, delegation, or team-
management by an outside health discipline in order for the ANP to provide patient care.
ANPs in Michigan are regulated by the Board of Nursing. A national certification is also
required. The State of Michigan requires that a registered nurse obtain a graduate degree before

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one can apply for national certification. The Michigan Board of Nursing certifies these four
APRN titles: Nurse practitioner, nurse midwife, nurse specialist and nurse anesthetist (How to
become a nurse practitioner in michigan, 2016). The license requirements are to obtain national
certification and also to be a licensed registered nurse (Nault, n.d.). Anything beyond a registered
nurse must be supervised by a physician (How to become a nurse practitioner in michigan,
2016). The possible duties of a nurse practitioner could include treating common and chronic
illnesses, health maintenance, disease prevention, counseling/patient education and provide
primary care services (How to become a nurse practitioner in michigan, 2016). Michigan does
allow APNs prescriptive authority but only under the supervision of a physician and are allowed
to prescribe from schedules II through V (Nault, n.d.).