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Overview:
Ambulatory care nurses treat patients of all ages with acute
or chronic illnesses or injury on an episodic, outpatient
basis. Treatment includes screening, triage, patient education,
pain management, case management, discharge planning and other
interventions to restore, maintain or promote patients' physical
health.
Typical
venues: health care facilities, community clinics, schools,
workplaces, dialysis centers, urgent care centers or pain
management centers.
Education:
active RN licensure
Certification
available: certification offered through:
American
Nurses Credentialing Center
600 Maryland Ave., SW, Suite 100 West
Washington, D.C. 20024-2571
(800) 284-2378
General
certification information, including links to FAQs
Specific
information about ambulatory care certification
Job
outlook: Nursing as a whole will be one of the top 10
fastest growing professions in the United States in the next
decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The job
outlook is particularly good for ambulatory care nursing because
as physicians are pressured to treat more patients in less
time, the role of the ambulatory care nurse is likely to expand.
Opportunities:
growing field; wide variety of health care conditions and
needs
Challenges:
care provided on an episodic basis, so patient follow-up may
be limited
For more
information:
American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing
East Holly Ave., P.O. Box 56
Pitman, N.J. 08071-0056
(800) AMB-NURSE
Fax (609) 589-7463
www.aaacn.org
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