Practice Guidelines for Family Nurse Practitioners

A family nurse practitioner, or FNP, works with physicians to provide care to families, according to the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). FNPs are registered nurses with additional education, training and certification in family health. FNPs use the same practice guidelines---clinical templates to guide treatment of specific conditions---that physicians use.

Content

Practice guidelines for FNPs---and all health professionals---provide a template for care and considerations about a particular illness. Each guideline has specific sections addressing target population for the disease, treatment protocol, evidence supporting the recommendations and select references.

Formats

Family nurse practitioners can find practice guidelines in a wide variety of sources. Elsevier, a medical publisher, provides a collection of guidelines in a book for FNPs; the U.S. government publishes printable guidelines on the Internet. Some teaching hospitals and professional groups offer applications that allow FNPs access to practice guidelines on hand-held computers and PDAs.

Sources

Practice guidelines for FNPs are available from a wide variety of sources, ranging from government sources, such as the National Guideline Clearinghouse, to teaching hospitals, medical libraries and professional associations. Many nursing schools, like the one at UCSF, provide links to practice guidelines for practicing FNPs as well as FNP students.

References

• Elsevier: Practice Guidelines for Family Nurse Practitioners
• University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing: Internet Resources for Nurse Practitioner Students
• U.S. National Library of Medicine: Delivering Interactive Clinical Practice Guidelines to the Point of Care Using Handheld Devices
• University of California, San Francisco: Family Nurse Practitioner
• U.S. National Guideline Clearinghouse: Seasonal Influenza in Adults and Children