A nurse has several opportunities to diversify into after she has completed the basic education in nursing. The person who has completed the nursing course will be mainly dealing with patients, but that is not all. There are many other roles and responsibilities for the nurse in the hospital and the community that she has to be ready for all kinds of work. This is an important aspect of the work of the nurse. Other than the physical work that a nurse is expected to do, she is also required to make sure that the patient is comfortable and is mentally strong. For this to be possible, the nurse herself needs to be strong both mentally and physically to get the patient on the path of recovery.

One of the important career options that a nurse has is the work as a nurse practitioner. This is an important job and there are several methods of ensuring that she will be able to get into the profession. The nurse will need to do additional training to become one, but the reward is that the pay is much higher and the job satisfaction that the nurse will get in this profession is higher too, as she can combine her skills as a nurse to make sure that the patient is treated holistically.

1. Education and experience:

The nurse not only needs to have the qualification as a nurse, but she also needs a few years of experience to become a practitioner. The nurse will ideally be one who is having at least about 2 years of experience in the nursing career as this will help the person to get into the new career quite easily. Though this is the norm, there are some courses where there may be some exceptions and the nurse may not need the experience that is usually required to do the course.

2. Specialty:

The nurse who is going to become a nurse practitioner needs to make sure that she is able to determine the specialty in which she is going to work. There are various areas in which the individual can select to specialize, but the best choice would be the one in which she has a lot of interest in. Some of the many choices that are available for the person are becoming a practitioner in acute care or in midwifery. Other options include occupational health and many more.

3. Enrolling:

The person also needs to make sure that she is also to enrol in one of the many institutions that offer the course. This may result in a degree that is even a Master level one in nursing. This too depends on the institution that is offering the course. Some of the places where the Masters degree is awarded will be intense, but on the other hand, the course is simple in places where no master's degree is awarded.

4. Licensing:

Once the course is over the individual who is on the way to become a nurse practitioner needs to make sure that she has got the license to practice after sitting for a test. Once she has completed the test, then there is no more barriers for the nurse to practice as a nurse practitioner and all that is needed is to apply for a job and start working.

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