1

Week 7 Discussion Question 2

Student Name

Institutional Affiliation
 2

Discussion Prompt

Using any resources that you can find, identify the difference between nursing practice and

advanced practice nursing. Support advanced practice nursing by identifying nursing theories

that can be applied to advanced practice nursing.

While both nursing practice and advanced practice nursing are committed to meeting the

healthcare needs of their population, there are significant differences between the two

professions. The advanced practice nursing (APN) profession is represented by APNs, while the

nursing practice is registered nurses (RN). According to the International Council of Nurses

(ICN), an APN is an RN with advanced knowledge, clinical competencies, and complex

decision-making skills for expanded practice (Hu & Forgeron, 2018). APNs have greater

responsibility in patient assessment, care coordination, and leadership compared to RN. In

addition, APNs are licensed to diagnose, treat and prescribe medications in some states in the

United States. Thus, they can perform responsibilities outside the scope of an RN. The extensive

medical education, training, and certification APNs receive significantly contribute to their

professional position and autonomy. The APN role emerged to address the increased need for

access to care, enhanced outcomes and services for specific priority groups, cost containment of

health care, and reduced wait times.

Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring applies to APNs. The theory champions the

traditional practices of caring and empathy and advocates for a more open and emotional

approach to patient care. Advanced practice nurses are required to deliver holistic care, including

consideration of the emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental factors that interplay in a patient’s

care. According to Eriksson et al. (2017), the individual and holistic approach that characterizes

APNs’ healthcare is crucial in contemporary healthcare practice. Another nursing theory that
 3

supports APNs is Leininger's Culture Care Theory. This theory is chiefly concerned when

delivering culturally congruent care to populations from diverse backgrounds. As mentioned

above, a key feature of APNs is providing individualistic care. This type of care is culture-

specific and tailored to patients' beliefs, values, needs, and preferences. In addition, Benner's

philosophy is another model applicable to the APN role. The theory efforts to explain ethical

comportment, perceptual acuity, skilled know-how, clinical judgment, and ongoing experiential

learning in nursing practice. APN understanding and utilizing these domains and competencies

greatly contribute to delivering quality and safe patient care.

 4

References

Eriksson, I., Lindblad, M., Möller, U., & Gillsjö, C. (2017). Holistic health care: Patients'

experiences of health care provided by an advanced practice nurse. International Journal

of Nursing Practice, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.12603

Hu, J., & Forgeron, P. (2018). Thinking, educating, acting: Developing advanced practice

nursing. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 5(2), 99–100.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2018.04.006