Advanced Practice Providers

Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified nurse specialists, certified nurse midwives.

You’ve probably received exceptional care from them at some point through the years. Many of you have selected them to be your healthcare partner of choice because of the quality of care you’ve received from them.

But do you want to know more about why these Advanced Practice Providers are so important to your care? Want to know more about what they do?

In short, Advanced Practice Providers are nationally certified and state licensed health care providers. Like physicians, they can diagnose and treat acute and chronic health conditions, examine and educate patients, order and interpret laboratory tests, and many can prescribe medications. They’ve received advanced degrees and clinical training in their field.

Some recent studies have shown what a tremendous value Advanced Practice Providers can bring to their communities, including:

Greater access to healthcare in areas and/or specialties where there’s a shortage of physicians
Care that – when provided in concert with physicians – is comparable to, and sometimes better than, care provided solely by physicians
Reduced healthcare costs

At The Christ Hospital Health Network, we have Advanced Practice Providers working in a variety of departments and specialties. Some focus solely on one aspect of care – for example patient education for inpatients – while others provide the full scope of care in an office setting. The care they provide is invaluable to our patients, their families and our physicians.

Services provided by our Advanced Practice Providers

Nurse Practitioners

Our Nurse Practitioners (NP) provide patients with comprehensive health care including diagnosis, treatment, prevention and health management, with a strong emphasis on caring for the whole person’s well-being and needs. Our NPs are highly qualified, having completed rigorous clinical training, peer reviews, clinical outcome evaluations and a national NP certification. Our NPs hold master’s and/or doctoral degrees and continue their self-directed education by actively participating in research and clinical trials.

Christ Hospital Nurse Practitioners provide a full range of health services including:

Performing diagnostic tests and lab work
Diagnosing acute and chronic health conditions
Prescribing treatment and medications
Counseling and educating patients on proactive wellness choices and treatment options

Physician Assistants

Physician Assistants (PAs) work with our physicians, enhancing our team’s abilities to see our patients quickly and efficiently. Each PA has a unique set of responsibilities based on their office location, specialty, level of expertise and supervisor. Our PAs complete three years of graduate level medical education, more than 2,000 hours of clinical rotations and the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE). To maintain PA status, The Christ Hospital PAs complete 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and a recertification exam every ten years.

Under the supervision of our Physicians, PAs provide health services including:

Taking medical history and performing physical examinations
Developing patient treatment plans
Ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests and lab work
Assisting in surgical procedures
Diagnosing health conditions and writing prescriptions for treatment

Certified Nurse Specialists

The Christ Hospital Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) practice in a variety of health care settings including nursing units, emergency room and private practice. Our team of CNSs are licensed and registered nurses with master’s and/or doctoral degrees with expertise in a specific specialty, type of health condition, setting and type of care. Our team of CNSs have a passion for working within and advancing their specialty, giving our patients one-of-a-kind innovative care.

The Christ Hospital Clinical Nurse Specialists provide numerous health care services including:

Bedside patient support
Managing ongoing treatments and complex care
Diagnosing and treating acute, chronic and complex health conditions
Designing and implementing health care interventions and evaluating health care outcomes

Clincial Nurse Midwives

The Christ Hospital’s Clinical Nurse Midwives (CNM) are licensed healthcare practitioners with education in both nursing and midwifery. Our CNMs provide mothers with full-circle care beginning with preconception preparation through post-birth health care, including physical, emotional and spiritual support.

They offer comprehensive pregnancy care including: