The Role of the Nurse Practitioner in Women’s Health
There is a nationwide shortage of nurses, giving students enrolled in nursing programs a variety of specialties to decide between in the field of nursing. Choosing to work as a women’s health practitioner could prove to be a particularly rewarding career decision. Women make up half of the U.S. population. Their health concerns are unique and vary considerably from men’s health needs.
To learn more, checkout the infographic below created by Regis College’s online Post-Master’s Nurse Practitioner Certificate program.
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Women’s health nurse practitioners play an integral part in helping patients sustain health and happiness. The demand for these experts, and the profession itself, is growing quickly because of the current nursing shortage.
What Is a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner?
The Growing Demand for WHNPs
The Current Supply of WHNPs
Median Salaries of Nurse Practitioners
Pregnancy
Women’s health nurse practitioners often decide to train with an emphasis in gynecologic and reproductive health needs. Nurses are the primary providers of bedside care for women and newborn children, and more than 350,000 registered nurses provide health care services to women and infants in the United States.
Research shows that the ability and bedside manner of nurses can have a huge impact on pregnant women, especially for women in adolescence, over the age of 35 or uneducated about pregnancy and other birth-related processes.
The importance of highly trained nurses caring for women in all stages of pregnancy is incredibly significant. Almost half of all pregnancies are unplanned. Approximately 50 percent of women who planned their pregnancy and two-thirds of those who didn’t plan their pregnancy have at least one risk factor. And among all pregnant women, almost one-third do not seek care until their second trimester.
Several of the most prevalent pregnancy risks include anemia, asthma, depression, anxiety, undiagnosed diabetes and nutritional deficiencies in underweight, folate-deficient or obese mothers.
Screening and Preventative Care for Women of all Ages
Nurse practitioners play a crucial role in women’s health promotion and prevention. By screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), cancers, depression and domestic abuse, NPs provide essential care to women of all ages.
Women’s health nurse practitioners can provide screenings for an array of health-related issues. These include breast cancer, cervical cancer, diabetes, human papillomavirus infection (HPV) and STIs. WHNPs also check for early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and hypertension, and interpersonal and domestic violence.
Overseeing well-woman preventative visits is also under the purview of women’s health nurse practitioners. Most women should strive to make an appointment for a preventative visit at least once a year beginning at the onset of adolescence. Depending on a patient’s age and health concerns, these visits may include breast exams, mammograms, pap tests and pelvic examinations. Questions about menstrual cycles, contraception and STI prevention may be asked during a well-woman preventative visit as well.
As the health care industry is currently in the midst of a nationwide nursing shortage, nurse practitioners are in higher demand than ever. Women tend to use the health care system for preventative and essential care more often than men, making nurse practitioners specializing in women’s care particularly sought after. It is for these reasons that women’s health nurse practitioners play an important and necessary role in maintaining family and societal health.