Emergency Nurse Practitioner
The Emergency Nurse Practitioner Program prepares nurses to provide health care in emergency settings. Program content is built on Family Nurse Practitioner preparation and the care of patients across the life span. While the emphasis is on evaluating, managing, treating, and preventing unexpected illness and injury, the curriculum also prepares graduates to provide health care to patients presenting to emergency settings for primary health care needs. Upon completion of studies, students are prepared to sit for exams for Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Center or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
Ethical issues abound in emergency care of patients. Some of the most common issues involve decision-making capacity and surrogate decision makers, but these issues are further compromised by the acute setting that significantly limit the time in which these issues can be addressed. In addition, improving practice in emergency care may require a different form of research than is possible in other areas of health care. To the extent that work in bioethics gives students a framework for considering these and related issues, they will be better prepared to address the needs of their patients and the concerns of their families.