1030. A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Nurse Practitioner?

“As a nurse practitioner in a leadership role, one of the most meaningful assignments I’ve had has been when I was working with and developing teams of nurse practitioners. I understood that it’s a unique role and that not everybody understands it. A lot of times people will say, ‘Are you a nurse? Are you a physician? What are you?’ Quite frankly, we have a foot in both worlds. We’re very strongly rooted in the nursing world, and we’re very strongly rooted in the medicine world and the practice world. Being a nurse practitioner, I was able to understand that unique position. Because of that, I was able to give back to our growing Nurse Practitioner team and really understand what priorities were meaningful for them … and what would be supportive to their practice so when they come to work, they could have joy and job satisfaction and really live what they were seeking when they decided to be a Nurse Practitioner in the first place.”

Dr. April Kapu is president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners®. She is a certified acute care nurse practitioner who holds both a master’s and doctoral degree in nursing from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. She has served as associate chief nursing officer for advanced practice nursing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. As a nursing executive for the health system, Dr. Kapu worked to establish innovative, high-quality health care services and provide resources and professional practice support for more than 1,400 advanced practice nurses. She is a professor of clinical nursing and recently was appointed Associate Dean for Community and Clinical Partnerships for Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.