1. What are the four main roles of an APN and what are their scopes of practice?

- The four main roles of an APN are nurse practitioner (NP), clinical nurse specialist

(CNS), nurse anesthetist (NA), and nurse midwife (NM). Their scopes of practice vary by

state, but generally they can perform advanced assessments, diagnose, prescribe, order

tests, and provide treatments within their specialty areas. NPs and CNSs can also provide

primary or specialty care, while NAs and NMs focus on anesthesia and maternity care

respectively.

2. What are some of the benefits and challenges of being an APN?

- Some of the benefits of being an APN are having more autonomy, authority, and

responsibility in clinical decision making, being able to provide holistic and patient-

centered care, having more opportunities for leadership, research, and education, and

being able to address the health care needs of underserved populations. Some of the

challenges of being an APN are facing barriers to practice such as restrictive regulations,

reimbursement issues, and lack of recognition, dealing with role ambiguity and role

conflict, maintaining competence and certification, and balancing multiple demands and

expectations.

3. What are some of the ethical issues that an APN may encounter in practice?

- Some of the ethical issues that an APN may encounter in practice are respecting patient

autonomy and confidentiality, obtaining informed consent, ensuring beneficence and

nonmaleficence, promoting justice and equity, managing conflicts of interest, maintaining

professional boundaries, reporting errors and adverse events, and advocating for patients'

rights.

4. What are some of the legal issues that an APN may face in practice?

- Some of the legal issues that an APN may face in practice are complying with state laws

and regulations regarding scope of practice, prescriptive authority, and collaboration

agreements, adhering to standards of care and evidence-based practice guidelines,

documenting accurately and thoroughly, protecting intellectual property rights, avoiding

malpractice and negligence claims, and responding to subpoenas and lawsuits.