The Outlook for Nursing Jobs in Physician Practices
– Experts Believe Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) Will Open an Array of Expanded Opportunities for Savvy, Career-minded Nurses –
AURORA, Colo. – July 14, 2011 – For many nurses, working in a physician’s office holds a special appeal. The advantages over a hospital job may include regular daytime hours, the chance to form ongoing patient relationships, and less job stress than you might experience at the bedside. Physician practices also seem to do a better job of retaining their nurses, according to a report issued by CareerBuilder and reported on by Amednews.com.
In recent years, some nurses have seen a troubling trend, however. Because of cost issues, many physicians have been hiring medical assistants rather than RNs to take patient histories, record vital signs, and assist with patient care and education.
It might seem that nursing jobs with medical practices are drying up – but this isn’t necessarily so, says Alice Masciarelli, MSN, RN, a medical practice administrator and DNP Executive Leadership student at American Sentinel University.
Masciarelli is one of many experts who believe the advent of the accountable care organizations (ACO) will open up an array of expanded opportunities for savvy, career-minded nurses. She was recently a featured speaker, along with Dr. Catherine Garner, DrPH, MSN, RN, FAAN, Dean, Health Sciences and Nursing at American Sentinel University, in a NurseTogether.com online chat about the role of nurses in medical practices.
The Role of Accountable Care in Creating New Nursing Roles
Mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordability Act (PPACA), an ACO is more than just a large group practice. It is an entire network of doctors, hospitals, and ancillary providers that will share the responsibility of providing care to all the Medicare patients enrolled with them. Right now, the race is on to form ACOs, as medical practices merge and are acquired by hospitals and large health care systems.
What does this mean for nurses?
Dr. Garner says that ACOs’ impact will be positive for the field of nursing and provide expanded opportunities for nurses to become managers of care rather than just providers of care.
“Nurses with education in case management of clients across the continuum of care will be in great demand as hospital systems acquire physician practices and need someone to manage the client and family,” Dr. Garner said. “Nurses will need to understand the care provided at all levels of the continuum, the maximization of insurance payments, negotiating with medical supply and pharmaceutical providers, as well as the support and engagement of family members.”
The ACO model is highly focused on quality benchmarks. It utilizes, rather than fee-for-service, a payment model known as capitation that gives providers an incentive to keep patients healthy. And it emphasizes highly effective primary care strategies and fewer hospitalizations.
With all this in mind, group practices that participate in an ACO may still employ medical assistants as task workers – to take vital signs and prepare patients for exams, for example. But there will be new opportunities for nurses as well – not only for advanced practice nurses in primary care roles, but also for nursing case managers and nursing informatics specialists. Management roles for nurses – as practice managers, directors of patient care, risk managers, etc. will also expand.
The demand for accountability, cost containment and care management will play a big role in ACOs, so the role of the nurse will expand in importance. Nurses will want to position themselves for success in this new model by getting advanced education in care management and leadership.
American Sentinel offers one of only five MSN programs in the country focusing on case management. This two-year online program is ideal for hospital nurses who want to expand their scope of practice and position themselves as future Care Coordinators. The program is an excellent credential for nurses who have been practicing case management and want to improve their marketability and relevancy in ACOs.
For information about American Sentinel University’s CCNE-accredited online nursing programs or Master of Science Nursing, Case Management Specialty, please call 866.922.5690.
About American Sentinel University
American Sentinel University delivers the competitive advantages of accredited online degree programs in nursing, nursing informatics, health care MBA and a DNP in executive leadership. Its bachelor’s and master’s nursing degree programs are accredited by the Commission for the Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The university is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). The Accrediting Commission of DETC is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency and is a recognized member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
