A Nurse Practitioner (NP) is a registered nurse with advanced clinical training in diagnosing and treating illness in patients of all ages. NPs perform physical examinations, provide preventative healthcare services, prescribe medications, perform minor procedures and help patients better manage chronic medical conditions. These advanced practice nurses work independently and collaboratively on the healthcare team to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors and prevent illness.
Listen as Gina Leman, NP explains how a family nurse practitioner can provide many aspects of patient care.
Selected Podcast
What is a Nurse Practitioner?
Featured Speaker:
Learn more about Gina Leman, NP
Gina Leman, NP
As a family nurse practitioner, Gina Leman, NP is an integral part of our health care team, assisting our physician in providing various aspects of patient care. She is a graduate of Indiana University School of Nursing and completed her graduate studies at University of Indianapolis; she is board-certified as a family nurse practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.Learn more about Gina Leman, NP
Transcription:
What is a Nurse Practitioner?
Melanie Cole (Host): You might say, “I’m going to the Doctor,” when heading to a healthcare visit, but it could well be, “I’m going to the Nurse Practitioner,” instead. When faced with the choice of primary care providers, you might like to know a bit more about this growing group of health professionals. My guest today, is Gina Leman. She’s a Nurse Practitioner with Hendricks Regional Health Brownsburg Family Medicine. Welcome to the show, Gina. So, what is a Nurse Practitioner?
Gina Leman (Guest): A Nurse Practitioner is an advanced practice nurse that has gone to additional schooling after receiving a four-year Registered Nurse Degree. They can focus in geriatrics, adults, family, or women and then their education links in their master's program is dependent on which specialty that they go into.
Melanie: Does every office have a Nurse Practitioner?
Gina: No, and Nurse Practitioners are used in different capacities at a variety of different medical offices -- facilities. They can be used in the hospital as following the patients during their acute illness. They can be seen in the ER. They can be used in free-standing offices and they can be used as extenders to the Medical Doctors there. They can also practice independently in their own practice with a collaborative agreement that is with either a local or a physician that they work with.
Melanie: One of the things that people complain about is the time that a doctor can spend with them. Is a Nurse Practitioner going to be able to spend a little bit more time -- give a little bit more personal appeal?
Gina: Well, I think even physicians would like to be able to spend a lot of time with their patients. We all want to – all medical providers want to be able to provide the best care, which includes giving our patients time. A lot of times that is dictated by the institution. I think that when patients see Nurse Practitioners, they get more of the Nursing approach than -- our background is a nursing degree rather than a medical degree – so, I think we do more of the holistic art of loving medicine than sometimes physicians do even given the same amount of time that we share with our patients.
Melanie: Very good answer. And can you prescribe medications and even treatments?
Gina: Yes, in Indiana currently, in order to prescribe medication, you need to have a collaborating agreement with the physician. There is legislation currently in the State of Indiana to allow Nurse Practitioners to practice independently, but that has not gone through yet. So, there are some Nurse Practitioners that do holistic medicine, that do not prescribe medication and they are independent. Then those of us that work in more primary care and acute care, where we write our own prescriptions, order our own testing, review our own tests, order home care, physical therapy, we have a collaborating agreement with a physician that reviews 5% of our charts in which we write a prescription. However, our license isn’t limited to a certain type of medicine, or a certain kind of referral, just like a physician.
Melanie: So do you collaborate with physicians, or what’s your autonomy like in a certain setting?
Gina: Again, that depends on the setting. There are some that work just directly with one doctor, or a group of physicians, or even a group of providers if it’s Physical Therapists just to provide that whole care for the patient. In my particular setting, in primary care, I have my own independent panel where I have my collaborating physician review 5% of the charts that I write a prescription for. However, any good medical practice will collaborate with other specialties, other medical providers, because we each have our own expertise and our own experiences that allow us to be good, so we all collaborate with each other.
Melanie: And what about in a pediatrics office? Might we find a Nurse Practitioner there?
Gina: Absolutely. There are specialized Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and then there are also the Family Nurse Practitioners. So, for me, I see from birth to death. In the infant setting, they would see them from birth to 18 years but you can really find Nurse Practitioners anywhere. We also have specialized Nurse Practitioners that could be in Endocrinology, or – I’m trying to think – Nephrology. They can get a specialty after they get their Master’s Degree as an Advanced Practice Nurse.
Melanie: And what would you tell patients to look for if they decide they’d like to see a Nurse Practitioner?
Gina: I think it’s with any other care provider, you wouldn’t expect any less. You want somebody that is going to listen to you, ask questions, and definitely, someone that you can trust. At the end of the day that’s what matters with any healthcare provider, is that you feel like there can be honest and trustworthy and knowledgeable so that you can be as autonomous as possible in making your healthcare decisions because healthcare doesn’t have all the answers. There’s some gray areas and so you just need to know at the end of the day that for your body and for yourself that you made the right answer.
Melanie: Gina, do you think there is a stigma -- I mean you’re obviously in a growing field -- but do you still feel a presence of a stigma where someone says, “No, I really want to see a real Doctor?” Or any of those kinds of things and if they do say that, what would you say to them?
Gina: I have seen that primarily in my rural practices and I think it just comes down to, it’s not a personal issue with Nurse Practitioners, it’s just more of a lack of education of what a Nurse Practitioner is, what kind of education they’ve had, what kind of limitations. It seems since there’s not a whole lot of widespread education out there they think that they will be getting some kind of second-hand care, or they will have less options available to them, that the Nurse Practitioner takes care of them because they just kind of see them as an RN. There’s so many different types of nurses that not even everyone understands the difference between what a Registered Nurse is versus an LPN. The stigmas are out there, but I think that once patients get to know – or they have friends that have a relationship with Nurse Practitioners – they understand that it’s the same quality care. And actually, the research out there supports that, that there is no difference in the care that a Nurse Practitioner provides versus a Medical Doctor.
Melanie: So wrap it up for us, Gina, about Nurse Practitioners and what you really want the listeners to know and why they should come to Hendricks Regional Health for their care.
Gina: At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who your practitioner is, whether it’s a Medical Doctor, a Nurse Practitioner if it’s a Physician’s Assistant. At the end of the day, the patient needs to feel like they’re the priority. They need to feel heard and they need to know and trust their provider, to know that they're there for them when they need them. We do a lot more than prescribe medicine and order tests. We need to listen, we need to get to know the family because that’s truly the art of medicine. And they need to be a part of Hendricks County because it’s just special in that it’s a smaller institution and we provide great care. Our providers make the patients the most important and we are the indispensable healthcare partner.
Melanie: Thank you, so much for being with us today, Gina. That’s great information. You’re listening to Health Talks with HRH, Hendricks Regional Health. And for more information, you can go to Hendricks.org, that’s Hendricks.org. This is Melanie Cole, thanks, so much for listening.
What is a Nurse Practitioner?
Melanie Cole (Host): You might say, “I’m going to the Doctor,” when heading to a healthcare visit, but it could well be, “I’m going to the Nurse Practitioner,” instead. When faced with the choice of primary care providers, you might like to know a bit more about this growing group of health professionals. My guest today, is Gina Leman. She’s a Nurse Practitioner with Hendricks Regional Health Brownsburg Family Medicine. Welcome to the show, Gina. So, what is a Nurse Practitioner?
Gina Leman (Guest): A Nurse Practitioner is an advanced practice nurse that has gone to additional schooling after receiving a four-year Registered Nurse Degree. They can focus in geriatrics, adults, family, or women and then their education links in their master's program is dependent on which specialty that they go into.
Melanie: Does every office have a Nurse Practitioner?
Gina: No, and Nurse Practitioners are used in different capacities at a variety of different medical offices -- facilities. They can be used in the hospital as following the patients during their acute illness. They can be seen in the ER. They can be used in free-standing offices and they can be used as extenders to the Medical Doctors there. They can also practice independently in their own practice with a collaborative agreement that is with either a local or a physician that they work with.
Melanie: One of the things that people complain about is the time that a doctor can spend with them. Is a Nurse Practitioner going to be able to spend a little bit more time -- give a little bit more personal appeal?
Gina: Well, I think even physicians would like to be able to spend a lot of time with their patients. We all want to – all medical providers want to be able to provide the best care, which includes giving our patients time. A lot of times that is dictated by the institution. I think that when patients see Nurse Practitioners, they get more of the Nursing approach than -- our background is a nursing degree rather than a medical degree – so, I think we do more of the holistic art of loving medicine than sometimes physicians do even given the same amount of time that we share with our patients.
Melanie: Very good answer. And can you prescribe medications and even treatments?
Gina: Yes, in Indiana currently, in order to prescribe medication, you need to have a collaborating agreement with the physician. There is legislation currently in the State of Indiana to allow Nurse Practitioners to practice independently, but that has not gone through yet. So, there are some Nurse Practitioners that do holistic medicine, that do not prescribe medication and they are independent. Then those of us that work in more primary care and acute care, where we write our own prescriptions, order our own testing, review our own tests, order home care, physical therapy, we have a collaborating agreement with a physician that reviews 5% of our charts in which we write a prescription. However, our license isn’t limited to a certain type of medicine, or a certain kind of referral, just like a physician.
Melanie: So do you collaborate with physicians, or what’s your autonomy like in a certain setting?
Gina: Again, that depends on the setting. There are some that work just directly with one doctor, or a group of physicians, or even a group of providers if it’s Physical Therapists just to provide that whole care for the patient. In my particular setting, in primary care, I have my own independent panel where I have my collaborating physician review 5% of the charts that I write a prescription for. However, any good medical practice will collaborate with other specialties, other medical providers, because we each have our own expertise and our own experiences that allow us to be good, so we all collaborate with each other.
Melanie: And what about in a pediatrics office? Might we find a Nurse Practitioner there?
Gina: Absolutely. There are specialized Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and then there are also the Family Nurse Practitioners. So, for me, I see from birth to death. In the infant setting, they would see them from birth to 18 years but you can really find Nurse Practitioners anywhere. We also have specialized Nurse Practitioners that could be in Endocrinology, or – I’m trying to think – Nephrology. They can get a specialty after they get their Master’s Degree as an Advanced Practice Nurse.
Melanie: And what would you tell patients to look for if they decide they’d like to see a Nurse Practitioner?
Gina: I think it’s with any other care provider, you wouldn’t expect any less. You want somebody that is going to listen to you, ask questions, and definitely, someone that you can trust. At the end of the day that’s what matters with any healthcare provider, is that you feel like there can be honest and trustworthy and knowledgeable so that you can be as autonomous as possible in making your healthcare decisions because healthcare doesn’t have all the answers. There’s some gray areas and so you just need to know at the end of the day that for your body and for yourself that you made the right answer.
Melanie: Gina, do you think there is a stigma -- I mean you’re obviously in a growing field -- but do you still feel a presence of a stigma where someone says, “No, I really want to see a real Doctor?” Or any of those kinds of things and if they do say that, what would you say to them?
Gina: I have seen that primarily in my rural practices and I think it just comes down to, it’s not a personal issue with Nurse Practitioners, it’s just more of a lack of education of what a Nurse Practitioner is, what kind of education they’ve had, what kind of limitations. It seems since there’s not a whole lot of widespread education out there they think that they will be getting some kind of second-hand care, or they will have less options available to them, that the Nurse Practitioner takes care of them because they just kind of see them as an RN. There’s so many different types of nurses that not even everyone understands the difference between what a Registered Nurse is versus an LPN. The stigmas are out there, but I think that once patients get to know – or they have friends that have a relationship with Nurse Practitioners – they understand that it’s the same quality care. And actually, the research out there supports that, that there is no difference in the care that a Nurse Practitioner provides versus a Medical Doctor.
Melanie: So wrap it up for us, Gina, about Nurse Practitioners and what you really want the listeners to know and why they should come to Hendricks Regional Health for their care.
Gina: At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who your practitioner is, whether it’s a Medical Doctor, a Nurse Practitioner if it’s a Physician’s Assistant. At the end of the day, the patient needs to feel like they’re the priority. They need to feel heard and they need to know and trust their provider, to know that they're there for them when they need them. We do a lot more than prescribe medicine and order tests. We need to listen, we need to get to know the family because that’s truly the art of medicine. And they need to be a part of Hendricks County because it’s just special in that it’s a smaller institution and we provide great care. Our providers make the patients the most important and we are the indispensable healthcare partner.
Melanie: Thank you, so much for being with us today, Gina. That’s great information. You’re listening to Health Talks with HRH, Hendricks Regional Health. And for more information, you can go to Hendricks.org, that’s Hendricks.org. This is Melanie Cole, thanks, so much for listening.