In 1992 the American Nurses Association (ANA) Congress of Nursing Practice approved the following definition of advanced clinical nursing practice:

Nurses in advanced clinical practice have a graduate degree in nursing and they:

• Conduct comprehensive health assessments.
• Demonstrate a high level of autonomy.
• Possess expert skills in the diagnosis and treatment of complex responses of individuals, families, and communities to actual or potential health problems.
• Formulate clinical decisions to manage acute and chronic illness and promote wellness.
• Integrate education, research, management, leadership and consultation into their clinical role and function in collegial relationships with nursing. peers, physicians, professionals, and others who influence the health environment.

There are four types of Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs): nurse practitioners, CRNAs, Nurse midwives and clinical nurse specialists.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)

Being a CRNA at UK HealthCare is a challenging and rewarding experience.

UK HealthCare provides a broad range of comprehensive surgical services which includes: Orthopedics, ENT, vascular, CT, neurosurgery, OB/GYN, dentistry, ophthalmology, organ transplantation, plastic surgery, general surgery, minimally invasive surgery, interventional radiology, and trauma surgery.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are a vital part of the surgical team and are very autonomous in their practice. The nurse anesthetist works with a supervising anesthesiologist to provide safe intraoperative patient care for a wide variety of complex cases, which span all age groups.

Nurse Practitioners

UK HealthCare employs Advance Practice Registered Nurse (APRNs) in a variety of clinical areas and specialties, including:

• Anesthesiology
• Emergency Medicine
• Family and Community Medicine
• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Endocrinology
• Gastroenterology
• General Internal Medicine
• Hematology, Blood & Marrow Transplantation
• Medical Oncology
• Neonatology
• Nephrology
• Neurology
• Neurosurgery
• OB/GYN 
• Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Otolaryngology
• Palliative Medicine
• Pediatrics
• Psychiatry
• Pulmonology 
• School-based University Health Services
• Surgery
• Transplant
• Women's Health