Defining Nurse Practitioner and Physician Careers Sample Essay

Introduction Every second, millions of people are seeking healthcare services everywhere around the globe. The Healthcare industry is one of the largest in the world. The Healthcare industry is also one of the largest providers of jobs in the United States. There are different kinds of healthcare providers based on one’s area of specialization (reference). Nurses and doctors are the most commonly recognized healthcare workers by many people. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the similarities and difference that exists between nurse practitioners and physicians.

Similarities Between Nurse Practitioners and Physicians

Although nurse practitioners and physicians are known to have several differences in terms of career paths, they share several common skills and responsibilities. For example, both nurse practitioner and physician careers require the completion of an advanced degree and professional licensure (reference).  In both careers, the exact licensure criteria may change depending on the location and residence. Nurse practitioners and physicians have some common issues about their specialization. For instance, nurses and physicians can specialize as they wish based on their prefeed field of study or patient demographic, informing each area of study. They both can specialize in areas such as adult and geriatric health, psychiatric and mental health, as well pediatric health (reference). Both Nurses and physicians share common skills such as quick problem-solving, empathic communication skills, detail-oriented organizational skills, and leadership skills. These healthcare providers work in the same environment with one goal of providing quality healthcare services to achieve positive patient outcomes (reference). It is not surprising to see that both careers share a lot of common ground related to their work environment.