An ambulatory care nurse is a nurse who treats patients who seek routine medical treatment for acute and chronic illnesses, as well as injuries, generally outside of a healthcare setting. As an ambulatory nurse, you would most likely only work with people on an outpatient basis. Ambulatory care nursing services provide primary care to a specific population as part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team.
Work activities will vary depending on the nurse’s role within the ambulatory centre. A triage nurse may work primarily in a walk-in clinic or on the phone, assessing patients and determining the priority in which they should be seen or referred. Collecting medical records and information about the chief complaint, as well as checking vital signs, is part of working with a multidisciplinary team. Following the practitioner’s assessment of the patient, the nurse will provide follow-up care, such as drawing labs and educating the patient about the ailment and discharge instructions.
What is ambulatory care in nursing
Any nurse who sees sick people in an outpatient setting is called an ambulatory care nurse. This general nurse typically provides non-emergency care in a physician’s clinic, clinic, health facility, or other healthcare settings where patients need not stay overnight. A hospital may have ambulatory care wings occasionally, but this type of nurse does not typically work in a hospital setting.
Ambulatory care nurses see patients for various reasons, including routine care, injuries, and acute or chronic illness. They may specialize in areas such as paediatrics or even other niche areas. These nurses should have the astute, multidisciplinary clinical knowledge to assess and expedite appropriate care. Ambulatory care nurses work in physician’s offices, clinics, the outpatient wing of a clinic, and other quasi-medical settings to provide outpatient medical care.
In this position, you may provide care to patients suffering from acute or chronic diseases and administer first aid that does not necessitate an overnight stay in a hospital. You collaborate with a physician to assess the patient’s needs, diagnose one‘s condition, and identify the best care options to help them manage it. Ambulatory care nurses may choose to specialize in a field such as paediatrics, women’s health, or geriatrics, or they may specialize in specific illnesses or injuries.
How do I get a job as an ambulatory care nurse?
Ambulatory care nurses must complete the same training as other nurses. To obtain your nursing license, you must first obtain an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and then pass the NCLEX-RN exam administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). Physician’s offices and clinics are the most common employers of ambulatory care nurses, so network with office buildings in your area to find nursing vacancies.
Although certification isn’t required, becoming a certified nurse may increase your job market competitiveness. To be eligible for the American Academy of Ambulatory Nursing certificate program, you must have completed over 2,000 hours of clinical practice and thirty hours of ambulatory care education.
How to become an ambulatory care nurse
Since the type of care provided can vary, ambulatory care is an excellent speciality for licensed RNs of all backgrounds. It’s also ideal for recent nursing graduates who want to avoid working odd hours or in a stressful hospital setting. A nurse can work in ambulatory care after getting a degree and passing the NCLEX-RN. They can become certified in the speciality after a few years of experience.
What kind of education do ambulatory care nurses need?
Ambulatory care nurses are registered nurses with an ADN or BSN degree. An ambulatory care midwife may need a BSN or higher, depending on where they work or their special focus. Ambulatory nursing is an excellent place for new nurse graduates to gain experience and determine whether they want to focus on anything; it is also ideal for individuals who know they want to work regular daytime hours.
Are there any certifications or credentials required?
The American Academy of Ambulatory Nursing administers the Ambulatory Care Nurse Certification Exam. The RN-BC (Nurse Practitioner Certified) credential is awarded to registered nurses who pass the exam. An RN must meet the criteria to be eligible to take the exam:
- Have a current, active RN license
- Have been a practitioner, full-time RN for at least two years
- Have a minimum of 2,000 minutes of clinical practice in outpatient clinics within the last three years
- Have completed 30 hours of ambulatory care nursing continuing education within the last three years
Where do ambulatory care nurses work?
Ambulatory care nurses can work in various healthcare settings, making it a diverse nursing career. Ambulatory care nurses work in various settings, including medical offices, government bodies, college/university medical centres, home health organizations, community medical centres, and group practices. Some hospitals also employ this type of nurse in ambulatory care units. Finally, ambulatory nurses can provide telehealth care through call centres, e-mail, or other remote methods.
What is the role of an ambulatory care nurse?
Ambulatory care nurses perform a wide range of duties daily. They care for patients of all ages, monitor vital signs, perform blood collection procedures, coordinate health care services, offer additional health education, and assess patient outcomes, among other things. Part of their job entails pain treatment and proper medication administration.
Ambulatory care nurses must be able to think on their feet and also be prepared to deal with various health issues that may arise from patient to patient, ranging from disease to injury and everyone in between. Aside from that, they are frequently assigned various managerial tasks, such as completing paperwork, delegating responsibilities and responsibilities, and preserving and adhering to rules, rules and regs, and policies.
Conditions that ambulatory care nurses commonly treat
In addition to the opportunity to perform hundreds of processes, you will encounter a wide range of patient conditions depending on your speciality. Ambulatory surgery nurses can help with the following tasks:
- Colonoscopies
- Biopsies
- Weight-loss surgeries
- Eye procedures
- Endoscopy procedures
Ambulatory care nurses in medical offices may treat common chronic conditions like:
- Asthma
- Diabetes
- Heart Failure
- Hypertension
Ambulatory care nurses may communicate with more niche patient populations in speciality settings. For example, in an ambulatory wound management clinic, patients may frequently present with pressure sores, open wounds, or ostomies.
What is the role of ambulatory care nurse?
- Assess a patient’s general health
- Take and monitor vital signs
- Perform phlebotomy procedures
- Assist patients in managing their healthcare
- Coordinate and suggest other healthcare services
- Promote optimal wellness
- Treat and assist patients with illness and injury
- Evaluate nursing services inside an organization to ensure proper regulatory and legal standards and departmental policies are upheld
- Educate patients and their families about health issues.
Characteristics of a successful ambulatory nurse
Ambulatory care nurses frequently work in fast-paced environments and switch between tasks and patients. These are some of the characteristics of a successful ambulatory care nurse:
- Communication
You may see a steady stream of daily patients as an ambulatory care nurse. You must be able to communicate not just with patients but also with your coworkers and other healthcare providers to provide safe and timely care.
- Detail-oriented
While most of the patients you will be caring for are stable and do not require immediate medical attention, nurses must be on the lookout for adjustments and concerns. A patient undergoing a routine procedure may experience a rare allergic response or a dramatic shift in the condition that necessitates immediate recognition and intervention.
- You are managing time
Your day can be made or broken by your ability to prioritize. The ambulatory care nurse’s responsibilities range from coordinating follow-ups to prescribing medicine, performing intake evaluations, triaging, and more.
Salary and employment for ambulatory care nurses
Nursing salaries vary depending on location, experience, educational levels, and more. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for an ambulatory care nurse is approximately $68,410. Aside from being a diversified nursing speciality, the job outlook for an ambulatory care nurse is also promising.
Many surgeons and physicians will now perform in-office surgery procedures that do not require a patient to stay overnight, putting ambulatory care nurses in high demand. Because of the sheer number of available job opportunities, this nurse should have had no trouble finding work in various healthcare settings.
A aignificant issue in examples of ambulatory care
The Nurse Licensure Compact has a significant impact on ambulatory care. Nurses in non-NLC states are not permitted to practice across state lines to provide telephone triage to patients in different states when they call. This restricts the care that nurses can provide.
However, as more states are becoming NLC states or have legislation awaiting approval during the COVID-19 pandemic, this issue appears to be easing. According to the National Board of Nursing, there were 34 NCL member nations as of April, with several others considering legislation.
“The one thing that is likely to change due to this crisis is that every state will pass compact licensure,” Johnson said. “It also requires
What are some fields that are closely related?
Ambulatory care nurses have a unique chance to interact with patients, continue to provide breast feeding care and make a difference outside of the stressful environment of a hospital. There is a distinction between ambulatory care and outpatient care. The common thread is an outpatient setting, such as:
- Urgent care nursing
- Dialysis nursing
- Public health nursing
- Radiology Nursing
- Pain management clinic
- Chemotherapy transfusion or oncology offices
In conclusion
Individual, family, group, community, and population health is the focus of fully professional ambulatory care nursing, a distinct domain of speciality nursing practice. Ambulatory care nurses work in settings distinct from other types of nurses. Ambulatory care nursing is characterized by registered nurses caring for many patients in short periods, often dealing with unforeseen issues in each encounter.
These interactions include both collaboration and cooperation and RN-independent activities. Ambulatory care RNs work with health care professionals to address patients’ well-being, acute illnesses, chronic conditions, disabilities, and end-of-life needs.
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