As medical care evolves, so does the role and scope of practice of the advanced practice nurse in acute care settings. When providing patient care, however, you, as an advanced practice nurse, must always ensure that you are working within the scope of practice outlined by your state's laws and institution's regulations. For this Discussion, you examine these laws and regulations and consider how they might affect your future clinical practice, consider the credentialing process for your area, and discuss negotiation techniques you may use in a job search.

To prepare:

Locate a collaborative practice agreement. Based on this agreement, consider the scope of practice of an advanced practice nurse in your state. (Prefer State of Texas)

Locate and select at least two hospitals where you would be interested in working at once you obtain your licensure. (I prefer Long-Term Acute Care Facility and Acute Hospital Setting)

Locate the hospitals' credentialing documents and investigate the scope of practice at each hospital. Note: All hospitals do not have the same scope of practice even if they are located within the same city and state.

Consider how the laws and regulations of the state and hospitals might affect your practice with medical and surgical patients in acute care settings.

Think about how you would negotiate your first Advanced Practice role. Consider issues such as salary range, Continueing Medical Education (CME), license and DEA costs, insurance, hours, on call requirements, etc.

Post an explanation of the scope of practice of advanced practice nurses, as outlined in the collaborative practice agreement. Then, identify the two hospitals of interest that you selected. Based on the credentialing documents, explain the scope of practice for acute care advanced practice nurses at each hospital. Explain how this might affect your practice in terms of caring for medical and surgical patients in acute care settings (i.e., medical treatments, procedures you can perform, interpreting diagnostics, etc.). Finally, describe job negotiation considerations.