title: Specialty practice entrepreneur: the advanced practice nurse.
abstract: There are many opportunities in the health care arena to make a difference. The structured sense of change is "old school." New "surfers" of the system will be entrepreneurial in spirit, energy, and flexibility. There is no job description for the perfect person, only a sense of excitement and innovation that gives one the feeling energetic change is about to happen. In nursing, the risk takers are abundant in the APN role. It is the reason why they walk the line of provider/nurse. Making a difference to patients is important. Riding the waves of clinical care is the excitement. The final results are "the big waves" of life--a patient's life. A provider who defines the reality of practice creates a vision and skillfully bridges the road between the two. Design the surfboard--catch the wave.
authors.affiliation: Ambulatory Group, UMASS-Memorial Medical Center, Worcester, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kowal
mesh_terms: D016520:Entrepreneurship; D006801:Humans; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009720:Nurse Clinicians / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000458:organization & administration*