What Is Ambulatory Care? Degrees & Career Opportunities

Ambulatory care is another term for outpatient care. Anyone interested in a career in ambulatory care needs a degree in healthcare or nursing.

Any outpatient services such as screenings, physical therapy, dialysis, biopsies, and x-rays is ambulatory care. Mental health services that do not require overnight care are also ambulatory care.

More information about ambulatory care, including why it is important and how it is different from inpatient care, is explained below.

What Is Ambulatory Care?

Ambulatory care is when healthcare professional provide outpatient care in ambulatory care centers and emergency departments in healthcare facilities.

Ambulatory care is important to the healthcare system and contributes to many job opportunities. There are several types of ambulatory care that are based on medical care and health care in outpatient settings. Types of ambulatory care can include:

• preventive care
• primary care
• rehabilitation services
• same-day surgery
• specialty care

How Does Ambulatory Care Differ from Inpatient Care?

Ambulatory care is different from inpatient care because it does not require patients to stay overnight in a hospital or other care facility. It's also less expensive.

There are more types of ambulatory settings than inpatient care settings. Ambulatory settings can include physician offices, doctor's offices, ambulatory surgery centers, and more.

Although both ambulatory and inpatient care involve acute care, inpatient acute care refers to short-term hospital stays. Ambulatory care refers to services provided in urgent care clinics.

Why Is Ambulatory Care Important?

Ambulatory care is important to those who do not require inpatient care. It is a type of care that improves patient experience through cost-effective services, telemedicine, urgent care centers, and more.

The healthcare system needs ambulatory care for high-quality outpatient services and reducing the number of patients in hospitals that do not require a hospital visit or overnight care.

What Do Ambulatory Care Nurses Do?

Ambulatory care nurses are registered nurses that perform medical services such as blood tests and diagnostic tests on an outpatient basis. Ambulatory care nurses also perform follow ups and instruct on patient safety.

Ambulatory care nurses can work in different environments such as schools, urgency care centers, and ambulances.

Jobs in Ambulatory Care

There are many jobs in ambulatory care. Ambulatory care jobs may include clinicians, registered nurses, and nurse practitioners. There are also jobs in ambulatory care such as medical receptionists, healthcare managers, or healthcare administrators.

Doctors, physicians, and other healthcare professionals also work in ambulatory care settings. Ambulatory care facilities typically include different ambulatory care professionals.

How To Begin an Ambulatory Care Career

Earn an undergraduate or graduate degree in nursing or healthcare to qualify for job opportunities in ambulatory care. Nursing degrees can lead to providing ambulatory care services and a healthcare degree can lead to a career in managing ambulatory healthcare.

Degrees for Ambulatory Care

An undergraduate or graduate degree in a healthcare-related field or nursing are the best degrees for anyone interested in providing ambulatory care. See examples of undergraduate degrees for ambulatory care below:

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
• Registered Nurse to BSN
• Bachelor of Science in health care administration

Examples of graduate degrees include a Master of Health Administration (MHA) and a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). An associate or doctoral degree may also be appropriate depending on the career goal.

Because there are many different types of health professionals that work in ambulatory care, a degree for ambulatory care depends on a person's career goal. For example, an aspiring physical therapist will need to earn a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.

Healthcare Degree Programs for Ambulatory Care

There are online accredited universities that provide healthcare degree or nursing degree programs for ambulatory care jobs such as the universities below.

1. Capella University

Find a health science or nursing degree at Capella University to gain the knowledge and skills necessary for working in ambulatory care settings. Capella University offers the following undergraduate degrees related to ambulatory healthcare:

• BS in healthcare administration
• RN to BSN

Prospective students with bachelor's degrees can consider an MHA degree or an MSN degree to enhance their qualifications for an ambulatory care position.

2. Grand Canyon University

Grand Canyon University (GCU) offers a wide range of flexible nursing and health degree programs for ambulatory care. The BS in athletic training program prepares students to work in rehabilitation facilities and more.

GCU also offers a BS in health information management degree, BSN degree options, and many graduate degree programs. Examples of graduate degree programs for ambulatory care include:

• MS in health administration
• MSN, acute care nurse practitioner
• MSN, family nurse practitioner

Tuition is $340 to $725 per credit hour depending on the degree program. Tuition also depends on full-time or part-time enrollment and financial aid awards.

3. National University

National University (NU) is a private university that provides online degree programs for ambulatory care. Degrees at National University that may qualify someone for a position in an ambulatory setting includes:

• BSN
• BS in healthcare administration
• RN to BSN
• MSN
• Master of Healthcare Administration

NU also provides a Doctor of Health Administration degree program and a Doctor of Nursing Practice in executive leadership degree program.

4. University of Phoenix

The University of Phoenix offers healthcare and nursing degree programs. Prospective students can choose a BS in health administration or health management. There is also a Master of Health Administration degree program.

Registered nurses can complete an RN to BSN degree program or an MSN degree online at the University of Phoenix. The graduate degree nursing program offers the following concentrations:

• informatics
• nurse administration
• nurse education

5. Western Governors University

There are healthcare and nursing degree programs at Western Governors University to prepare for a career in ambulatory care. Examples of online bachelor's degree programs include:

• RN to BSN
• BS in health information management
• BS healthcare administration

The MSN in leadership and management, MSN in family nurse practitioner, and the MHA degree programs are examples of online graduate degrees available at WGU.