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Nurse Practitioner Role

Student’s Name

Course

Institution Affiliation

Date
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Nurse Practitioner Role

The purpose of this study is to look at the discussion in the Netherlands about the growth of

the nurse practitioner profession. The benefits and drawbacks of nurse practitioners working in

the medical field have been discussed in the Netherlands since the position was established in

1997. The debate's conclusion is critical for nurse practitioners' professional growth as well as

society's justification of their responsibilities. From 1995 to 2012, a review of 14 policy

documents, 35 nurse opinion papers, 363 physician opinion pieces, and 24 Dutch research

publications on nurse practitioners was conducted (Koper, et al., 2018). Two discourses

emerged: one about efficiency and the other about professional growth. Both offered the nurse

practitioner position as a solution to healthcare and workforce issues, but the reasons varied.

The efficiency debate appeared to have the greatest clout. Nurse practitioners' perspectives

were underrepresented, and taking on additional duties was motivated by a desire to enhance

patient care (Maier, et al., 2018). While most doctors were ready to assign duties to nurse

practitioners, they insisted on having ultimate authority over medical treatment. All accessible

publications were thoroughly examined, but unpublished policy papers from the government or

important parties were excluded. This may have resulted in some discrimination. The

Netherlands' experience demonstrates that nurses in developing advanced roles face

comparable challenges as those in other countries. The dominance of efficiency arguments

coupled with the preservation of medical autonomy stifles progress toward patient-centered

nursing care. Nurse practitioners should aim for positions where they may make their own

choices and make the best use of healthcare resources for the benefit of patients and society
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(De Bruijn-Geraets, et al., 2018). Nurse practitioners should strive to join important healthcare

boards in their nations, where they may speak out and participate in policymaking.

One of the weaknesses identified is that Netherlands' experience demonstrates that nurses

in developing advanced roles face comparable challenges as those in other countries (Van

Dipten, et al., 2018). The dominance of efficiency arguments mixed with the safeguarding of

medical autonomy stifles progress toward patient-centered nursing care.

The study by the author is credible as nurse practitioners should aim for positions where

they may make their own judgments and make the best use of healthcare resources for the

benefit of patients and society. Nurse practitioners should strive to join prominent healthcare

boards in their nations, where they may speak out and participate in policymaking.
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References

De Bruijn-Geraets, D. P., van Eijk-Hustings, Y. J., Bessems-Beks, M. C., Essers, B. A., Dirksen,

C. D., & Vrijhoef, H. J. M. (2018). National mixed methods evaluation of the effects of

removing legal barriers to full practice authority of Dutch nurse practitioners and physician

assistants. BMJ open, 8(6), e019962.

Maier, C. B., Batenburg, R., Birch, S., Zander, B., Elliott, R., & Busse, R. (2018). Health

workforce planning: which countries include nurse practitioners and physician assistants and

to what effect? Health Policy, 122(10), 1085-1092.

Koper, I., Pasman, H. R. W., & Onwuteaka-Philipsen, B. D. (2018). Experiences of Dutch

general practitioners and district nurses with involving care services and facilities in palliative

care: a mixed methods study. BMC health services research, 18(1), 1-9.

Van Dipten, C., van Berkel, S., de Grauw, W. J., Scherpbier-de Haan, N. D., Brongers, B., van

Spaendonck, K., & Dees, M. K. (2018). General practitioners’ perspectives on management of

early-stage chronic kidney disease: a focus group study. BMC family practice, 19(1), 1-7.