UNCG STUDENT HANGS UP RN CAP -- NOW
A GERONTOLOGICAL NURSE PRACTITIONER
By Deborah Durkee
Christen Duke examines Mary Lou Quigley during a
lab class in the UNCG School of Nursing. (Photo: Bob
Cavin)
GREENSBORO -- Christen Duke plans to hang up her registered
nurse's cap on June 1 to become a gerontological nurse practitioner,
an expanding specialization in the nursing field.
Although the designation "gerontological nurse practitioner"
(GNP) isn't used often around the dinner table, more GNPs such as Duke
might soon be appearing around doctors' examining tables. Duke, a
Salisbury resident, will receive her Master of Science in Nursing with
a specialty in GNP on Sunday, May 16, when The University of North
Carolina at Greensboro holds its annual commencement exercises at 10
a.m. in the Greensboro Coliseum.
Nurse practitioners combine some of the medical aspects of a
doctor, such as diagnosis and treatment, with the best aspects of
nursing. "Nurse practitioners are always going to be nurses, so we
focus on health maintenance, health care practices," Duke said. "We
really strive to get to know our patients on a personal level. That's
what nurses do. We are there face-to-face at some of the most intimate
moments a person can have, and using that as a background, nurse
practitioners are able to assess, diagnose and treat."
That's where they differ from registered nurses; RNs cannot
make a medical diagnosis, order medications and laboratory tests, or
interpret those tests to determine if additional treatments are
necessary, but collaborating with physicians, nurse practitioners can.
Gerontological nurse practitioners such as Duke specialize in
tending to the ailments of the elderly. "What makes them different
from another nurse practitioner, or from a physician's assistant, is
they've got their older adult component," said Dr. Laurie
Kennedy-Malone, an associate professor of nursing, who runs the
program at UNCG. "Suppose there is a doctor in a nursing home
practice. A lot of physicians find that going out to the nursing home
takes them away from the clinic practice, and there are a lot of
regulations. Hiring someone who can do a good portion of that can be
beneficial to the practice."
Duke will be using her "older adult component" at Carolina
Cardiology Associates in Lexington. "I'll be seeing patients who have
been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and helping them manage
their medications and lifestyle," Duke said.
The gerontological nurse practitioner program at UNCG has been
in place since 1992, and Duke is a member of the last class at UNCG to
get her GNP. The University is completing its first year in a two-year
master's degree program or post-graduate certificate in Adult
Gerontological Nurse Practitioner. The "adult" portion will allow the
GNP to care for patients age 16 years and older. Duke plans to return
to UNCG in the fall to upgrade to an Adult GNP.
Kennedy-Malone sees the new program as part of an answer to a
growing need in the state. "In North Carolina, 95 out of 100 counties
are designated as medically underserved areas," she said, quoting
information from the Bureau of Primary Health Care. "Sixty-two percent
of the state's population has an inadequate supply of primary care
physicians, which is a reason why we need nurse practitioners in this
state." Added to those facts is a rising need. "North Carolina ranks
fifth in having an older adult population; it is estimated by some
state officials to be ranked first in five years," Kennedy-Malone
said. Right now 900,000 people age 65 and over reside in North
Carolina, a projected 2 million are expected by 2025.
Duke sees nurse practitioners as filling a practical need.
"From a physician's point of view in hiring a nurse practitioner, NPs
don't make the salary of a physician," she said. "An established
physician could pay a doctor's salary to see 20 patients a day or pay
an NPs salary to see 20 patients a day and still bill medicare."
Duke graduated from Meredith College with a B.A. in English in
1988 and worked as a technical editor for a software company in
Austin, Texas. The High Point native returned to the state with an
interest in health care, which led her to UNCG's nursing program. From
her first class in anatomy, she knew she'd made the right decision.
She has been a critical care nurse since 1992, and looks forward to
her new role.
"As a nurse practitioner I'll be able to work more
autonomously," Duke said. "I can diagnose. I can prescribe therapies,
and I can refer to other physicians, if necessary."
Christen Duke examines Mary Lou Quigley during a
lab class in the UNCG School of Nursing. (Photo: Bob
Cavin)