Question

Upon your arrival at the hospital, the nurse specialist examines you and consults with the radiologists, the gastroenterologist, and the general surgeon. Your medication is reviewed by the pharmacist and your meals by the clinical nutritionist. Throughout the hospitalization, you are followed by a hospitalist. Once you get back home, the home care team comes to see you regularly for the first 2 weeks, and the certified physician assistant (PAs) and the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) see you in the office. You realize that health care is no longer just about doctors and nurses. Explain the roles that of these healthcare workers provide to the hospital and the patient. In other words, I want you to explain the functions of each of these types of healthcare workers and describe why they are important to the health of the patient.

You are interested in clinical care, as well as public health. I need to make a choice, you think to yourself. “Not necessarily,” your advisor says. “There are many ways to combine clinical care with public health.” After a little investigation, you find out that undergraduate public health education is increasingly seen as preparation for clinical education, and clinical prevention and population health are increasingly becoming part of clinical care. In addition, many careers, from health administration, to health policy, to health education, to clinical research, combine the individual orientation of clinical care with the population perspective of public health. So what is the best pathway to a public health career for you and why?

Answer 1

FUNCTIONS OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS

1. PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT

A Physician Assistant is a healthcare professional licensed to practice medicine with physician'' supervision. The major roles of PA are:

• Making rounds & performing patient examination
• Diagnosing illness
• Assisting in surgery
• Ordering & interpreting lab tests and X-ray
• Prescribing medications
• Developing & managing treatment plans
• Advising patient on preventive care & optimal health practices.

2. DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE

A doctor of nursing practice is a clinical doctorate that prepares graduates for advanced nursing roles that includes clinical practice and leadership. The roles includes:

• providing direct patient care
• Managing the care of patients & patient population
• Administrating in nursing & healthcare organizations
• Developing & implementing health policy
• ​​​​​​​Coordinate quality improvement team & disaster planning.