20 tasks, each one witnessed by the sources that watched the job — and behind every one, a prompt you can use tonight.
You’ll start by reviewing charted histories and test results in the EHR (Epic, eClinicalWorks, MEDITECH or Allscripts). Morning visits include intake duties: recording vitals, past histories, and performing focused physical exams.
Afternoons are for diagnosing, creating treatment plans, ordering diagnostic tests, writing prescriptions, and documenting everything in the EHR. Expect time for patient teaching, coordinating care with specialists, and brief chart follow-ups using Outlook and SharePoint for team communications.
You’ll use an EHR (Epic, eClinicalWorks, MEDITECH, or Allscripts) to record histories, order labs and imaging, prescribe medications, and view test results. Use Microsoft Word and Excel for reports and quality projects, PowerPoint for presentations, and Outlook/SharePoint for team schedules and policies.
Prescription e-systems are usually inside the EHR. Departmental policies and infection-control procedures live on SharePoint. Expect to toggle between clinical notes, lab results, and messaging in the EHR many times per day.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports median pay for nurse practitioners at $132,300 per year. The lowest tenth earn about $101,340; the top tenth about $174,420. BLS also lists about 323,040 employed NPs in the U.S.
Use those numbers to set expectations, but local pay varies by state, employer (clinic, hospital, or rural health center), and specialties like acute care or psychiatric NPs.
Treat AI as a decision support tool, not a final answer. Use AI to summarize guidelines, draft patient education, or flag abnormal lab trends, then verify everything against the chart, test results, and your clinical judgment in the EHR.
Never allow AI to auto-prescribe without you checking doses, interactions, and contraindications—especially for infants, pregnant people, or older adults. Document your review in the EHR and follow your facility’s policy on AI use kept on SharePoint.
You need an RN license, a graduate NP program (MSN or DNP), and national certification in your chosen specialty. Study anatomy, pharmacology, pathophysiology, physical exam skills, diagnostics, and primary-care procedures like suturing and immunizations.
Practice charting in an EHR (many programs use Epic or eClinicalWorks), learn to read labs and imaging, and get clinical hours in outpatient and underserved settings to build skills in care coordination and chronic disease prevention.
Both diagnose and treat, but training length differs: MD/DOs go through medical school and residency; NPs complete RN experience plus graduate NP training. NPs typically focus on primary care, health promotion, and chronic disease management.
Scope of practice can vary by state—some allow full practice (prescribe and run clinics), others require physician supervision for certain tasks. NPs often spend more time on patient education and care coordination, using systems like Epic and Outlook to collaborate.
You must be confident doing history-taking, focused physical exams, suturing, splinting, taking cultures, administering immunizations, and wound debridement. Also read and interpret basic labs and imaging to make treatment plans.
Equally important: safe prescribing (watching for adverse drug reactions in infants, pregnant/lactating people, and older adults), accurate documentation in the EHR, and knowing how to refer to specialists when needed.