A necessity not a luxury: preparing advanced practice nurses to care for older adults.

Of today's 2.7 million registered nurses, less than 1% are certified in gerontological nursing and only 3% of advanced practice nurses (APNs) have specialized training in this area. These statistics indicate that there are not enough gerontological nurse practitioners or geriatric clinical nurse specialists to care for the burgeoning older adult population. Relying solely on certified geriatric APNs to care for older adults is not a viable solution. Educating all APNs with grounding in gerontological nursing care may well be the answer to expanding our nation's capacity to competently care for our rapidly aging population. As part of the 4-year Enhancing Geriatric Nursing Education in Baccalaureate and Advanced Practice Nursing Grant, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing developed a set of core gerontological competencies for graduate APN programs. These competencies, entitled Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist Competencies for Older Adult Care, delineate guidelines for APNs who are not specialists in gerontology but provide care to older adults. This article describes the competency development process, provides an overview of broad categories and examples of competency statements, and highlights model case studies for integrating gerontological content throughout APN curricula to ensure that graduates are equipped to provide competent care to older adults.     

A survey of oncology advanced practice nurses in Ontario: profile and predictors of job satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to examine role structures and processes and their impact on job satisfaction for oncology advanced practice nurses (APNs) in Ontario. APNs caring for adult, paediatric or palliative patients in integrated regional cancer programs, tertiary care hospitals or community hospitals and agencies were invited to complete a mailed self-report questionnaire. A total of 73 of 77 APNs participated in the study. Most APNs (55%) were acute care nurse practitioners employed by regional cancer programs or tertiary care hospitals. Adult patients with breast or haematological cancers and those receiving initial treatment or palliative care were the primary focus of APN roles. APN education needs related to specialization in oncology, leadership and research were identified. Overall, APNs were minimally satisfied with their roles. Role confidence (beta = .404, p = .001) and the number of overtime hours (beta = -.313, p = .008) were respective positive and negative predictors of APN job satisfaction. Progress in role development is described, and recommendations for improving role development and expanding the delivery of oncology APN services are provided.     

安徽省急诊急救专科护士工作现状调查与思考

目的:了解安徽省急诊急救专科护士的工作现状,为完善专科护士培养制度,加强专科护士使用与管理提供参考依据。方法:采用自行设计的调查问卷,对经安徽省急诊急救专科护士培训基地培训并取得资格的92名急诊急救专科护士的工作现状进行调查。结果:①92名急诊急救专科护士中有6名已离开急救护理岗位,离岗率为5.71%。②22名(34.78%)专科护士担任护士长职务,其中有20名是培训后升为护士长职务的,角色改变率为21.74%。③专科护士在教学方面发挥了较多的作用,但在急救技能、抢救流程、转运模式、各种规范的修订与完善、院外急救知识培训等高级临床实践方面作用发挥得不明显。④护士缺编、护士未分层次使用、职责不明确是影响专科护士核心能力发挥的主要因素。⑤经培训后,专科护士查阅文献和科研能力提高。⑥100%专科护士认为需要得到管理层支持和经常参加学术会议以促进其核心能力持续养成。结论:发挥专科护士高级临床护理实践作用,科学地使用专科护士,加强专科护士岗位管理,进行资格再认证,真正使专科护士学有所用,是目前面临的亟待解决的问题。     

Assessing outcomes in advanced practice nursing practice: the use of quality indicators and evidence-based practice

Advanced practice nurses (APNs) impact both patient care and healthcare systems on a daily basis. Tracking and documenting the outcomes of APN practice have become essential, due partly to the emphasis on outcomes that has become a component of the majority of healthcare initiatives. This article outlines important aspects related to assessing outcomes and discusses the use of quality indicators to demonstrate outcomes of APN practice. Examples from clinical practice are provided in order to demonstrate that assessing the outcomes of APN practice can be incorporated into daily practice as part of ongoing initiatives. In delineating the outcomes of APN care, the value of APNs can be formally acknowledged.     

Expanding acute care nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist education: invasive procedure training and human simulation in critical care

Programs educating advanced practice nurses (APNs), including acute care nurse practitioners (ACNPs) and clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) may struggle with the degree to which technical and cognitive skills necessary and unique to the care of critically ill patients should be incorporated within training programs, and the best ways these skills can be synthesized and retained for clinical practice. This article describes the critical care technical skills training mechanisms and use of a High-Fidelity Human Simulation (HFHS) Laboratory in the ACNP and CNS programs at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. The mechanisms for teaching invasive procedures are reviewed including an abbreviated course syllabus and documentation tools. The use of HFHS is discussed as a measure to provide students with technical and cognitive preparation to manage critical incidents. The HFHS Laboratory, scenario development and implementation, and the debriefing process are discussed. Critical care technical skills training and the use of simulation in the curriculum have had a favorable response from students and preceptors at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, and have enhanced faculty's ability to prepare APNs.     

A qualitative analysis of how advanced practice nurses use clinical decision support systems

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to generate a grounded theory that will reflect the experiences of advanced practice nurses (APNs) working as critical care nurse practitioners (NPs) and clinical nurse specialists (CNS) with computer-based decision-making systems. DATA SOURCES: A study design using grounded theory qualitative research methods and convenience sampling was employed in this study. Twenty-three APNs (13 CNS and 10 NPs) were recruited from 16 critical care units located in six large urban medical centers in the U.S. Midwest. Single-structured in-depth interviews with open-ended audio-taped questions were conducted with each APN. Through this process, APNs defined what they consider to be relevant themes and patterns of clinical decision system use in their critical care practices, and they identified the interrelatedness of the conceptual categories that emerged from the results. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative analysis method of qualitative research. CONCLUSIONS: APN participants were predominantly female, white/non-Hispanic, had a history of access to the clinical decision system used in their critical care settings for an average of 14 months, and had attended a formal training program to learn how to use clinical decision systems. "Forecasting decision outcomes," which was defined as the voluntary process employed to forecast the outcomes of patient care decisions in critical care prior to actual decision making, was the core variable describing system use that emerged from the responses. This variable consisted of four user constructs or components: (a) users' perceptions of their initial system learning experience, (b) users' sense of how well they understand how system technology works, (c) users' understanding of how system inferences are created or derived, and (d) users' relative trust of system-derived data. Each of these categories was further described through the grounded theory research process, and the relationships between the categories were identified. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The findings of this study suggest that the main reason critical care APNs choose to integrate clinical decision systems into their practices is to provide an objective, scientifically derived, technology-based backup for human forecasting of the outcomes of patient care decisions prior to their actual decision making. Implications for nursing, health care, and technology research are presented.     

Experiences of the new role of advanced practice nurses in Swedish primary health care—A qualitative study

Lindblad E, Hallman E-B, Gillsjö C, Lindblad U, Fagerström L. International Journal of Nursing Practice 2010; 16 : 69–74
Experiences of the new role of advanced practice nurses in Swedish primary health care—A qualitative study
The aim of this study was to investigate and describe the experiences of the first advanced practice nurses (APNs), a new profession for Swedish health care, and of their supervising general practitioners (GPs), regarding the new role and scope of practice of APNs in primary health care. Individual interviews were conducted with the four first APNs and one focus group interview was conducted with five supervising physicians. The material was transcribed verbatim and analysed using latent content analysis. The respondents expressed confidence and trust in the new role of APNs. Some opposition to this new role from the GPs and other colleagues was observed, but was nonetheless overcome. The experiences of the APN role indicate that the new role is clearly demarcated from the role of physicians. The APNs were considered an extra resource for both the GPs and other nurses, which contributed to an increased availability of care for patients. The APN role requires an explicit definition and demarcation in relation to responsibility and roles among colleagues. Further development of the APN role presupposes the right to prescribe medication and order treatments, as well as an evaluation of patient, organizational and inter-professional perspectives on the matter.     

我国护理硕士专业学位研究生与专科护士并轨培养可行性探讨

目的 探讨科学、系统、合理、可执行的我国护理硕士专业学位研究生和专科护士并轨培养的思路及可行性,为从根本上全面提高我国专科护士的学历水平及护理硕士专业学位研究生的专业技能提供参考。方法 对我国护理硕士专业学位研究生及专科护士培养进行了现状分析,然后阐明了两者并轨的可行性及必要性,接着从招生对象、培养学制、导师制度、课程设置、临床护理实践、考试与考核、学位授予及专科护士资格认证共7个方面探讨了并轨培养的具体思路设想,最后提出了相应的对策及建议。结果 护理硕士专业学位研究生教育和专科护士并轨培养可行,可考虑在合理衔接研究生教育与专科护士培训两者间的差异基础上加强政府、护理院校、医疗机构三者间的交流协作,构建并完善规范化、标准化的培养体系。结论 与专科护士培训并轨的护理硕士专业学位培养模式符合我国护理专业化、高层次化发展的需求,是我国护理实践发展的必然趋势,两者并轨对于专业学位研究生综合素质的培养及护理学科的可持续发展具有重要意义。     

The role of the nurse practitioner in disaster planning and response

Advanced practice nurses (APNs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) have provided health care services during disasters; however, little appears in the literature about their role. APNs and NPs represent a significant portion of the nursing workforce. This article focuses on critical factors to consider when preparing and planning for the role of NPs.     

Trends in mental health: implications for advanced practice nurses

PURPOSE: To examine current trends in mental health care for vulnerable populations and suggest how advanced practice nurses (APNs) can incorporate mental health care into primary care practice. DATA SOURCES: Original research and evidence-based clinical articles, government publications, and professional practice guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Vulnerable populations, such as racial and ethnic minorities, adults with chronic mental illness, the elderly, the incarcerated, and those living in rural areas have long been ignored as recipients of quality, integrated health care services. There is a compelling need for APNs to participate in the integrated delivery of physical and mental health care to all Americans, especially to vulnerable populations. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Under the umbrella of advanced practice nursing, a variety of nurse practitioners (NPs) and clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) can offer a holistic approach to the provision of evidence-based health care in a wide variety of settings to an array of vulnerable and underserved people. By serving on provider panels, partnering with consumer groups, and advocating for the unmet health needs of vulnerable populations, APNs can have a positive impact on the health care delivery system.     

Working relationships between practice nurses and general practitioners in Australia: a critical analysis

This research set out to explore shared care between practice nurses and general practitioners in South Australia. Nine practice nurses (PNs), two nurse practitioners and 10 general practitioners (GPs) were interviewed in urban and rural practices in order to build up a picture of how GPs and PNs worked together. The interviews showed that shared care was not a reality, although practice nurses were very busy, enjoyed their work and were no longer performing as receptionists doing a little nursing on the side, but as highly skilled nurses. Questions that emerged included whether or not practice nurses are specialists or generalists; their relationship to nurse practitioners; the extent to which the doctor–nurse game explains the relationship between practice nurses and general practitioners; and the potential for expanding the practice nurse role.     

Advanced practice nursing and the role of the pediatric critical care nurse practitioner

Advanced practice nursing, since its inception in the early 1960s, has constantly changed in an effort to establish standardized core graduate education, specialization of practice, and autonomy, now common in the 1990s. Nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and certified registered nurse anesthetists have followed in the footsteps of the clinical nurse specialist by enhancing their practice through advanced education. Nurses in these advanced areas are graduating from established programs with a master's of science in nursing and a specialty in their chosen field. The pediatric critical care nurse practitioner is one such specialty. This article highlights the results of a national survey that described pediatric critical care nurse practitioner practice over a broad geographic area. With change as a constant, nurses will look to the future of advanced practice roles, which are ever changing, and continue to provide safe, quality care to patients.     

Nurse-sensitive outcomes of advanced practice

Advanced practice nurses (APNs) in the USA are registered nurses who hold masters or doctoral degrees in a specialized area of nursing. They provide advanced clinical care to clients, manage health care systems and influence health care decision-making through expert clinical reasoning and research and theory-based action. APN impact on health care outcomes is supported by studies using physician-focused indicators, although a few studies have identified several that are sensitive to or reflective of advanced practice nursing. A modified Delphi survey was conducted during May 1997-December 1998 to determine the outcome indicators APNs recommend for use in measuring their effect on care delivery outcomes. A convenience sample of 66 APNs attending a statewide outcomes conference identified 27 potential outcome indicators. These indicators were included in a mailed survey sent to APNs working in Tennessee. Respondents were asked to rate each indicator for validity, sensitivity, feasibility, utility and cost. In the second round of the survey, they were asked whether or not they agreed with the rank ordering of indicators, which was determined by the means calculated from responses in the first round. The 10 highest ranked indicators were satisfaction with care delivery, symptom resolution/reduction, perception of being well cared for, compliance/adherence with treatment plan, knowledge of patients and families, trust of care provider, collaboration among care providers, frequency and type of procedures ordered and quality of life. APNs identified both direct and indirect measures of effect on care delivery outcomes. Some of these are currently used as indicators of advanced practice, but many are not. Additional research is needed to determine whether the indicators proposed are valid and sensitive to advanced practice care by nurses.     

Point of care ultrasound use by Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners in clinical practice: An integrative review

BackgroundNurses and nurse practitioners (NPs) are utilising point of care ultrasound (PoCUS) in practice. PoCUS is a useful tool to enhance clinical assessments and improve patient care. There have been no published literature reviews on this topic.AimsThe objective of this review is to examine the literature on PoCUS and draw conclusions to determine the implications of the use of PoCUS by registered nurses and nurse practitioners to inform nursing practice.DesignIntegrative review.MethodsData bases MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and Google scholar were searched for relevant articles between 2008 and 2018. The inclusion criteria were registered nurses and nurse practitioners using PoCUS in their clinical practice. Articles retrieved were in English and with full text. Articles were assessed for quality using TREND and a PRISMA flowchart is presented.FindingsSix eligible articles were examined identifying major findings of education in PoCUS, accuracy and mastery of a skill and clinical influence.DiscussionAn evaluation of the use of PoCUS by registered nurses and nurse practitioners provides evidence of its efficacy and potential to improve patient care and inform nursing practice.ConclusionSome registered nurses and nurse practitioners are expanding their scope of practice to include PoCUS to improve patient care. PoCUS requires investment in time and education.     

What advanced practice nursing outcomes research is out there?

With a traditional focus on primary care or selected patient populations, advanced practice nurses (APNs) are forging new roles in a variety of practice settings, including acute and critical care. APNs have become important members of the critical care team, yet the impact of their care on acute and critically ill patients has not been well studied. This article presents an overview of the research currently available on outcomes of APN practice for acute and critically ill patients. The findings from these studies are discussed and implications for the future of APN outcomes research are provided.