Growing Demand for Nurse Practitioners in Ophthalmology

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FHEA Faculty

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The medical community has a growing demand for advanced practice registered nurses (APRN), including specialty care. From 2022 to 2023, the ranks of APRNs grew by 8.5%, according to The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). The AANP is responding to the need for NPs in diverse specialties by expanding the AANP Communities, including one of the newest emerging specialties seeking more NPs — ophthalmology.  

Through AANP Communities, NPs can help grow the scholarship and understand the focus area. While ophthalmology is a growing specialty area for NPs, it doesn’t have the foundation other, more established specialties have today.  

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“The lack of formal eye training remains one of the biggest challenges for NPs,” says Tulay Cakiner-Egilmez, NP-C, PhD, CRNO, COMT, an AANP Ophthalmology Community Co-chair. “There are also practice barriers that limit NPs from performing eye exams and treating eye diseases in certain states.” 

However, despite these challenges, Cakiner-Egilmez says NPs are a valuable resource for improving care quality and patient satisfaction. With the growing aging population and increasing number of eye patients, NPs can help assist with the demand. 

The AANP Ophthalmology Community is a go-to resource and support system for NPs to share educational materials and discuss diseases and treatment guidelines, practice issues and opportunities for professional growth.  

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Editor’s note: this post was originally published on February 22, 2024 and updated on April 22, 2024.

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