Becoming a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Provides Focused Care

A great deal of change has taken place during the past 20 years that has led to the battle for overcoming the inequities that have run rampant when it comes to providing healthcare to women. Once upon a time, healthcare was a universal product that was dispensed evenly between men and women with very little focus upon the differences that take place when it comes to the health of a man versus a woman. However, much work has been done to identify the differences that gender makes when it comes to healthcare. Knowledge has increased as well as treatment improvements when dealing with women’s health in the United States during the past 20 years that has led to many more opportunities for medical professionals to focus on women’s health.

Why A Change in Focus?

The United States Census indicates that even though the national population is 51 percent female who occupy quite a few significant roles in society including that of a primary caregiver while also making 80 percent of all healthcare decisions, It wasn’t until approximately two decades ago that any serious attention was given to specific women’s health needs when it came to public policy, public and private research as well as execution in any type of clinical setting. This Has now changed. Since the 1980s, the United States Department of Health and Human Services has led the way toward a focus on women’s health issues collaborating with the private sector towards the advancement of health care provisions for women and girls both nationwide is well as worldwide. Therefore, career opportunities such as a women’s health nurse practitioner have almost naturally evolved from the new focus on gender specific healthcare.

What Does a Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner Do?
A woman’s health care nurse practitioners involved in the delivery of comprehensive services that are specifically female focused when it comes to health care provision. This work often includes not only the promotion of living healthy lifestyles for women but also specifically here towards disease prevention that only affects women. Women health care nurse practitioners also get involved in the Management of both acute and chronic health conditions that affect women specifically. In order to participate in this well needed medical profession, an individual must have the proper education first and foremost. In order to qualify for certification as a women’s health nurse practitioner, an individual was first be a registered nurse and attain any education leading to a Master of science in nursing (MSN). Typically, the person who enters into this profession can expect to receive an annual salary from $53,810-$92,518.

Starting on a Career Path

All women’s health nurse practitioners are registered nurses (RNs), who made you start off with the two-year associate’s degree or possibly a 2 to 3 year hospital diploma program. But it must be noted, the greater employment opportunities as well as advancement can be more easily add one individual obtains a four year Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree (BSN.The typical path includes spending a certain amount of time working as a registered nurse concentrating in women’s health issues. The next step would be to obtain a Master of science in nursing degree, which is typically offered in each year program for graduate study from accredited colleges and universities. Some employment opportunities will require that individuals with a masters degree also participate in post-masters specialty coursework, especially if the individual is seeking to find a position in women’s health nursing.

Demand on the Rise
As is typical with almost every area of nursing in the medical profession today, the demand for women’s health nurse practitioners will be constantly on the rise for quite some time. Projections expected need for 587,000 new registered nurses through the year 2016 plus there will be hundreds of thousands of job opportunities resulting from well experienced nurses that either leave the profession will be retiring in this next decade. All the numbers may not be specific for the need of women’s health nurse practitioners, since there has been an increased focus on the provision of specific medical services for women only, there is a good chance that the need for qualified professionals in this specific area of medical healthcare will continue to rise as well.

Excellent, Rewarding Work Awaits Qualified Professionals
A women’s health nurse practitioner functioned much as a qualified physician delivering a wide array of different types of house care to women that include many of the following:

  • Family planning services
  • Disease prevention and well within healthcare management
  • Consultation and management of sexually transmitted diseases
  • Specific care detailed for both prenatal or postpartum
  • Care specifically programmed for women suffering from cancer, HIV/AIDS or other disabilities
  • Substance abuse program execution and management specifically designed for women-based
  • Delivery of medical services specifically geared towards women suffering from mental and physical abuse
  • Involving individual patient assessment, health education and counseling
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    All women’s health nurse practitioners are qualified to provide full diagnosis and treatment for all of the health situations listed. These highly trained medical professionals are also capable to apply nursing theory and research in clinical practices and can also function in other necessary related employment areas such as educators, consultants and administrators and scientific researchers.