Pioneering a Primary Care Adult Nurse Practitioner Interprofessional Fellowship

The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Academic Affiliations funded 5 Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education. The West Haven site pioneered the first post-master's adult nurse practitioner (NP) interprofessional fellowship to address the gap in NP education. The experiences of the initial cohort were captured through semistructured interviews. Qualitative analysis revealed 4 common themes: (1) bridging into professional practice, (2) expanded appreciation of health professionals' roles, (3) commitment to interprofessional teamwork, and (4) the necessity of mentorship. The initial findings suggest that post-master's adult NP interprofessional fellowship programs are an essential “next step” for new NPs.     

Telehealth Education of Nurse Practitioner Students

Telehealth is rapidly becoming a viable mode of health care delivery. Telehealth education of nurse practitioners (NPs) is recommended during their academic careers to increase confidence in the use of this technology. On the basis of competencies developed by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties and using the Multimodal Framework as a guide, telehealth was integrated into an NP curriculum. This article provides a high-level overview of the structure, process, and outcomes of how telehealth was integrated into an NP program of study, inclusive of didactic, experiential, and clinical components.     

Nurse Practitioner Political Strength Through Unification

If nurse practitioners are to achieve their goal of serving as the principal providers of primary health care and having a major voice in health policy decisons, they must increase their political effectiveness. Of all the problems that nurse practitioners face today, this is one of the most serious. This article identifies some of the reasons why nurse practitioners have failed to achieve maximum political effectiveness, such as lack of national stancardization of the role, titling confusion, and the lack of research to demonstrate that the nurse practitioner is the most appropriate and cost effective primary health care provider. Next, the consequences of the above are explored. Finally, some solutions are proposed, the most important of which is the establishment of a strong national nurse practitioner organization to serve as the voice of all nurse practitioners.     

Theory of Nurse Practitioner Job Satisfaction

Nurse practitioner (NP) job satisfaction was evaluated qualitatively to enhance understanding of relevant processes and concepts. A constructivist grounded theory study was undertaken. The study population included NPs working in rural and urban primary health care in Northern Ontario, Canada. An original theory to explain NP job satisfaction and intent to leave was developed. This report focuses on the concept of NP job satisfaction within the broader theory and explores all relevant findings.     

Supporting Nurse Practitioner Preceptor Development

Increases in the number of nurse practitioners (NPs) completing their educational programs create a challenge for universities as well as health care organizations. More clinical preceptors are needed to support students and new professionals transitioning to clinical practice. Although preceptors are critical in the evolution from new NP to competent provider, there is a lack of information available to NP preceptors related to developing effective clinical teaching skills. This comprehensive literature review evaluates current, evidence-based strategies for preceptor development. The findings in the literature show improvement in clinical reasoning when structured preceptor methods are incorporated into clinical practice.