Advanced Practice Nurse

Acronym: APRN

An advanced practice nurse (APRN) is a registered nurse with advanced education at the master's, specialist, or doctoral level in a specific specialty area of nursing. APRNs use their highly developed knowledge and skills to provide healthcare services independently with little or no supervision from doctors. Since there's a shortage of physicians in the United States, APRNs are playing an increasingly important role in primary and acute care, especially in medically underserved areas. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the employment of advanced practice nurses will skyrocket rapidly by 31 percent, thus creating 47,600 new jobs before 2022.