AUSTIN, Texas, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The American
Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) recently
released findings from its 2020 National NP Sample Survey. In every
state, NPs continue to deliver comprehensive, high-quality care in
settings ranging from primary care clinics, hospitals, emergency
rooms, urgent care centers and nursing homes to patients' homes
through virtual visits.
"Findings from this survey emphasize NPs' effective role in the
continuum of care," said AANP President Sophia L. Thomas, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, PPCNP-BC,
FNAP, FAANP. "What began over a half century ago as a necessary way
to fill the gaps in primary health care in underserved and rural
populations has evolved into an expert health care provider role,
serving all populations in all health care settings." Thomas added,
"The confidence that patients have in the health care they receive
from NPs is evidenced by more than 1 billion visits made annually
to NPs."
In 2020, three of the top five certifications reported were in
Primary Care: Family (69.7%), Adult (10.8%) and Adult-Gerontology
Primary Care (7%). NPs with a Psychiatric/Mental Health (4.7%)
certification moved up into the top five certifications this past
year. The top three NP work site settings remained as hospital
outpatient clinic (14.3%), private group practice (10.4%) and
hospital inpatient unit (10%); however, private NP practice (3.8%)
was among the top 10 work site settings in 2020. In addition to
caring for their patients in these settings, NPs facilitated
referrals to other health care providers. Primary care NPs most
often referred to physical therapists (88.2%), specialty care
physicians (79.9%) and psychologists (75.8%).
Notwithstanding the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, NPs
continued to diagnose, treat and manage a wide variety of chronic
and acute conditions in their practices. The most frequently
reported diagnoses treated by NPs were abdominal pain (69.4%),
anxiety (67.2%) and urinary tract infections (66.7%). Almost all
(96.2%) NPs indicated that they prescribe pharmacologic agents for
patients, which also varied by NP certification, practice community
and work site setting. Overall, NPs wrote an average of 21
prescriptions or refills per day. NPs certified in
Psychiatric/Mental Health wrote the highest average number of
prescriptions per day.
AANP members can log in and download a free 2020 National NP
Sample Survey report on the Research Reports webpage. Nonmembers
may purchase a copy of the report on the same webpage.
Methodology: Since 1999, AANP has conducted the NP Sample
Survey, which is periodically focused on the NP workforce to
capture vital information regarding the characteristics and
practices of NPs. A sampling frame of more than 166,000 records for
this survey was pulled from the AANP National NP Database, which
includes contact information from AANP's members, its customers and
state regulatory agencies. From this, just over 55,000 NPs were
sent the electronic survey instrument and a total of 3,994
responded. The survey used a multivariate weighting adjustment
for sampling bias and for subtle over- and under-representations of
certain demographic and geographic groups. The survey results were
also limited to NP respondents who were clinically practicing at
the time of their participation.
Contact research@aanp.org for further information.
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners®
(AANP) is the largest professional membership organization for
nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties. It represents the
interests of the more than 290,000 licensed NPs in the U.S. AANP
provides legislative leadership at the local, state and national
levels, advancing health policy; promoting excellence in practice,
education and research; and establishing standards that best serve
NPs' patients and other health care consumers. As The Voice
of the Nurse Practitioner®, AANP represents the
interests of NPs as providers of high-quality, cost-effective,
comprehensive, patient-centered health care. For more information
about NPs, visit aanp.org. To locate an NP in your community,
visit npfinder.com. For more information about NPs,
visit aanp.org. For COVID-19 information from AANP,
visit aanp.org/COVID19.
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/findings-from-2020-survey-show-nurse-practitioners-nps-continue-to-provide-quality-health-care-during-the-pandemic-301266810.html
SOURCE American Association of Nurse Practitioners