How Do Nurse Practitioners Provide Care For Women?

How Do Nurse Practitioners Provide Care For Women? : Women across different ages face unique challenges. Therefore, it is no surprise that the national demand for women’s healthcare rose to 6% in 2020. With quality healthcare, women can lead fulfilling lives and are less likely to experience serious health problems. They are also more likely to participate in their communities, workplaces and families.

With the existing demand and pressing health concerns, becoming a women’s health nurse practitioner (WHNP) might be a good career choice. As a WHNP, you’ll provide specialized and quality healthcare to biological, transgender and intersex women throughout their life spans, from puberty to post-menopause. So, understanding how to provide specialized care to women across different ages and lifestyles is essential in delivering positive and successful health outcomes.

The role of WHNPs in providing care for young girls

Caring for young ladies can be a rewarding experience for WHNPs. While caring for young women, you’ll have an opportunity to positively impact their lives when they are most vulnerable. Often, girls do not know about their illnesses and seek out someone they can confide in and trust. This means that young ladies will turn to you for answers when they’re upset or scared and will believe you without hesitation.

WHNPs take a proactive and preventive approach to delivering care to reduce health issues before they happen. In some rare scenarios, they administer minor procedures. They often use a family-centered approach to treat each girl individually while supporting family beliefs and promoting positive patient outcomes. Other roles and responsibilities of WHNPs caring for young girls include the following:

Evaluating the child’s needs and providing initial care.
Determining changes in children’s symptoms and intervening in emergencies.
Tracking temperature, breathing, blood pressure and pulse while keeping accurate records.
Identifying signs and symptoms of abuse among children.
Dealing with the demands and anxieties of parents while helping them deal with their child’s injury or illness.
Staying updated on the latest innovations, rules and regulations, treatment procedures, equipment, and drug therapies.

However, before WHNPs can start a proactive and preventive healthcare approach and fulfill their duties, they must learn to build trust and meaningful relationships with their child patients to ensure better health outcomes. This includes creating a child-friendly treatment environment in which they communicate in a manner custom-tailored to a child’s age and developmental level. Furthermore, WHNPs must be upfront with the child about a specific procedure.

For example, when a child asks if a shot will be painful, WHNPs should never tell them that it won’t hurt if it will. While it might seem counterintuitive, informing them will reduce their anxiety and help them to know what to expect. Being honest about what is happening will also impact how cooperative your child patient will be.

The role of WHNPs in providing care for female adolescents

Adolescence can be a challenging time for women. This is one of the most dramatic and rapid growth periods for a woman, and emotional and personality development changes can be tough to keep up with. Female adolescents are vulnerable because of the physiological changes. For most girls, it manifests as the development of breasts, a height spurt, the onset of menstruation, and increasing body curves.

WHNPs provide high-quality care that incorporates understanding unique female adolescent needs and requirements. This includes educating female adolescents about reproductive and sexual health and preventive services recommendations. Moreover, WHNPs can help female adolescents achieve excellent mental wellbeing.

Contrary to popular belief, there is a significant risk of death, illness and injury in the adolescent years. This is because adolescents establish behavioral patterns that can protect or put their health at risk now and in the future. Recent data shows that depression and anxiety are among the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents, with suicide being the leading cause of death in women aged 15 to 19. On the bright side, most of these illnesses and diseases are preventable or treatable with the proper guidance from a healthcare professional.

WHNPs can conduct comprehensive mental health assessments to diagnose mental health issues among female adolescents and identify the root causes of their distress. These nurses can perform lab examinations, physical tests and psychology assessments depending on their initial examination. This lets them determine the patient’s mental health needs, the goal she would like to work toward, and the treatment types she might require to achieve her objectives.

By creating a treatment plan, WHNPs can empower female adolescents to be more in control and involved in their healthcare. It also allows WHNPs to concentrate on improving and sustaining the patient’s health and deal with issues as they occur. Doing so promotes a trauma-informed approach and prevents triggering negative emotions in female patients.

The role of WHNPs in providing care for pregnant women

WHNPs are vital during pregnancy, from prenatal to postnatal care. Pregnant women experience complications such as anemia, diabetes and emotional concerns. WHNPs provide evidence-based and sound clinical advice, often addressing unasked patient concerns. This ensures that pregnant women maintain good health, which is necessary for a safe and healthy pregnancy.

While their roles and responsibilities vary depending on the institution they work in, typical duties of WHNPs during prenatal care include performing pelvic evaluations, taking urine samples, and blood work to assess the health of a pregnant woman. These tests can determine if the patient has complications carrying a child or during birthing. The nurses also teach expecting mothers how to care properly for themselves and their developing children.

This includes providing advice on exercise, nutrition and strategies for reducing the discomfort that comes from pregnancy. WHNPs help pregnant women understand the changes they are facing and observe their symptoms for signs of trouble. Moreover, they provide advice on different approaches to childbirth and offer mothers additional information regarding the birthing process.

However, it is worth noting that the role of WHNPs in caring for pregnant women goes beyond prenatal care. They also stay by the mother’s side and offer support, assistance and encouragement during labor and delivery. When a pregnant woman enters the hospital, WHNPs might connect equipment to track vital signs, work with gynecologists to implement a birthing plan, and examine the mother’s health during labor.

Depending on the state in which they work, WHNPs can administer pain medications as required and ensure that the instruments used to assist with the birth are sterile. Immediately after birth, they monitor the mother and child for complications by performing multiple evaluations and checks to ensure that both are healthy. Once no complications are detected, WHNPs can move to post-partum care, wherein they continue to monitor the mother and child and prepare them for their return home.

The role of WHNPs in providing care for older women

The importance of caring for older women is too hard to ignore with the increasing baby boomer population. Numbers indicate that roughly 76 million individuals were born between 1946 and 1964, with the oldest members of this generation retiring in 2012 and others expected to retire in 2030. Through proper care, older women can receive specialized care that considers their unique needs.

This is especially important considering that several health conditions occur and intensify because of aging. Older women often cannot keep up with their care when such a condition occurs, and adverse health episodes happen more than usual. While older women die of the same conditions as men, a recent study reveals that they face multiple chronic conditions that impact their daily lives, such as arthritis, hypertension and diabetes.

WHNPs fine-tune disease management with medication, lifestyle changes and other therapies to reduce the risk of severe symptoms and complications. They also create a comprehensive care plan that addresses the challenges associated with older women and focuses on promoting, restoring and optimizing health functions. Depending on the patient’s considerations, this involves performing in-depth evaluations, resolving age-related and chronic changes, promoting medication safety, advancing mobility and functional abilities, and educating them about healthy aging practices.

Unlike other healthcare populations and demographics, older women face age-related changes that make it more challenging to understand new information and healthcare data. WHNPs are responsible for delivering information and instructions clearly to older female patients and their families. This means using simple terms to establish an open and secure dialogue with older women and their families. Doing so makes it easier for older women to remember the appropriate ways to self-manage care and prevent non-essential readmissions.

Why become a WHNP?

Understanding the pros and cons of being a nurse practitioner is essential before enrolling in a leading academic institution such as Elmhurst University. To find out about the benefits of choosing a direct entry Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program, read Elmhurst University’s blog, linked to above. As a WHNP, you must establish a positive nurse-patient relationship to meet a high standard of healthcare. Here are several reasons why becoming a WHNP can be advantageous.

Provide patient-centered care

The level of personal attention you can provide to patients is one of the most significant advantages of becoming a WHNP. Unlike typical nurses, you’ll address individual patient needs and offer patient-centered care to promote women’s health and wellness. You’ll also spend more time with patients and learn to develop and implement personalized care plans to meet their needs.

Advocate for women’s rights

As a WHNP, you can advocate for women’s rights and access to reproductive healthcare. You can join organizations such as Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health to speak on behalf of the underserved, shape policies, and ensure that women have access to quality healthcare.

High salary potential

The salaries of WHNPs are almost always higher than other nursing professions because of the continuous demand. Recent data shows that WHNPs earn between $108,319 and $123,727, with an average base salary of $115,346 depending on experience, skills, certifications and qualifications. While financial rewards are not everything, they can be vital in career-related decisions. Lucrative and steady pay can smooth over work challenges. You can even demand a salary based on your goals if you have advanced qualifications and skills. Moreover, working as a WHNP ensures that you’ll never be out of a job, considering the current demand for women’s healthcare.

How to become a WHNP

Everyone’s journey is different, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to becoming a WHNP. Wherever you are along the nursing journey, these steps can enable you to make educated decisions and help you answer your initial queries about becoming a WHNP.

Become a registered nurse

The first step toward becoming a WHNP is attaining an undergraduate nursing degree. This often takes two to four years, depending on whether you choose to complete an associate or bachelor’s degree. While working toward your undergraduate degree, you’ll learn nursing-specific coursework and practical training. Once you’ve earned your degree, the next step is to pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). The NCLEX-RN comprises more than 100 questions and tests candidates on their knowledge of physiological and psychological integrity, health promotion and maintenance, and safe care management.

Gain nursing experience

Although it’s not required, gaining at least a year of full-time clinical experience before admission is recommended to understand the professional inner workings of the industry. Some RNs work in hospitals, outpatient centers and physician offices to gain the relevant clinical experience for a WHNP role.

Enroll in an advanced nursing degree program

A master’s degree is the minimum academic requirement to become a WHNP. Earning a graduate nursing degree takes two to four years, depending on whether you attend part-time or full-time. Several accredited programs include in-person clinical experiences where you develop practical WHNP skills. This prepares you to manage the entire scope of women’s health issues, from prenatal to post-menopausal care.

Become a board-certified WHNP

After completing graduate school, WHNPs pursue certifications to validate their professional credibility and reputation. You can take the Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner exam organized by the National Certification Corporation to attain a certification and demonstrate superior clinical competence. Once board-certified, you must complete continuing education requirements every three years to maintain your status.

Starting a career as a WHNP today

Women are the cornerstone of a family’s overall health. So, ensuring that they have access to quality care is essential in improving the health of children and families. As a WHNP, you can make sure that women receive essential healthcare and effectively deal with unique medical challenges.