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Makya
Student
Rock Hill, South Carolina
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Different Responsibilities
What are some of the different responsibilities of a pediatrician and a nurse-partitioner?
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Lori Allard
Nurse practitioner
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Tucson, Arizona
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Lori’s Answer
hi Makya, a pediatrician will be an M.D. (medical doctor) with specialization in this field.
A Nurse Practitioner will be an advanced practice nurse with specialization/certification according to their education. For example, a Family Nurse Practitioner encompasses work with pediatric patients.
are you trying to decide if you may want to be a Pediatric MD versus a Nurse Practitioner in pediatrics and how these roles may vary?
The different responsibilities would be influenced by the type of practice setting; for example, hospital, office practice, community health center, and others. Also, the state that the provider works in could influence roles and role responsibilities; for example, some states are independence practice states for nurse practitioners, and other states require varying levels of supervision or overseeing MD agreements for the N.P. ; for the N.P., these agreements and the nurse practice act would place stipulations on the extent of the role. In general, the M.D. will be able to work to the full scope of their license and the N.P. may be limited depending on the State of practice and facility policy.
The pediatric MD would be seeing patients newborn till 18yrs; newborne well baby and immunizations, acute care and episodic care, illnesses, diagnose, diagnostic tests, prescribe and refer to other specialists/providers.
The NP specializing in pediatrics, would also be able to assess, diagnose, order tests, prescribe and refer; but again the degree and variations of this role will depend on the state of practice, type and location of the facility to mention a few.
Often times, position descriptions for health care jobs will give information about the "expectations" for the role and these can be great starting places for career research.
A Nurse Practitioner will be an advanced practice nurse with specialization/certification according to their education. For example, a Family Nurse Practitioner encompasses work with pediatric patients.
are you trying to decide if you may want to be a Pediatric MD versus a Nurse Practitioner in pediatrics and how these roles may vary?
The different responsibilities would be influenced by the type of practice setting; for example, hospital, office practice, community health center, and others. Also, the state that the provider works in could influence roles and role responsibilities; for example, some states are independence practice states for nurse practitioners, and other states require varying levels of supervision or overseeing MD agreements for the N.P. ; for the N.P., these agreements and the nurse practice act would place stipulations on the extent of the role. In general, the M.D. will be able to work to the full scope of their license and the N.P. may be limited depending on the State of practice and facility policy.
The pediatric MD would be seeing patients newborn till 18yrs; newborne well baby and immunizations, acute care and episodic care, illnesses, diagnose, diagnostic tests, prescribe and refer to other specialists/providers.
The NP specializing in pediatrics, would also be able to assess, diagnose, order tests, prescribe and refer; but again the degree and variations of this role will depend on the state of practice, type and location of the facility to mention a few.
Often times, position descriptions for health care jobs will give information about the "expectations" for the role and these can be great starting places for career research.