Primary Care Nurse Practitioners' Integrity When Faced With Moral Conflict

2007 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 795-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Ann Laabs

Primary care presents distressful moral problems for nurse practitioners (NPs) who report frustration, powerlessness, changing jobs and leaving advanced practice. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to describe the process NPs use to manage moral problems common to primary care. Twenty-three NPs were interviewed, commenting on hypothetical situations depicting ethical issues common to primary care. Coding was conducted using a constant comparative method. A theory of maintaining moral integrity emerged consisting of the phases of encountering conflict, drawing a line, finding a way without crossing the line, and evaluating actions. The NPs varied in their awareness and the discord encountered in conflict, and in clarity, flexibility and justification of the line drawn. A critical juncture occurred when NPs evaluated how well integrity had been maintained. Some experienced no distress while others experienced self-doubt, regret, outrage and frustration at external constraints, and attempted to reconcile through avoiding, convincing themselves, and compensating.

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 480-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol A. Clark ◽  
Kathleen A. Kent ◽  
Richard D. Jackson

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Sanders ◽  
Gwenllian Wynne-Jones ◽  
Bie Nio Ong ◽  
Majid Artus ◽  
Nadine Foster

Aims: Using qualitative interviews, this study explored the experiences of GPs, vocational advisers and patients towards a new vocational advice (VA) service in primary care. Methods: This study was nested within the Study of Work and Pain (SWAP) cluster randomised controlled trial. The SWAP trial located a VA service within three general practices in Staffordshire. Interviews took place with 10 GPs 12 months after the introduction of the VA service, four vocational advisers whilst the VA service was running and 20 patients on discharge from the VA service. The data were analysed using the constant comparative method, which is a variation of grounded theory. Results: The key factors determining the acceptability and perceived effectiveness of the VA service from the perspective of the three groups of stakeholders were (1) the timing of referrals to the VA, (2) the perceived lack of patient demand for the service and (3) role uncertainty experienced by VAs. Conclusions: Early vocational intervention may not be appropriate for all musculoskeletal patients with work difficulties. Indeed, many patients felt they did not require the support of a VA, either because they had self-limiting work difficulties and/or already had support mechanisms in place to return to work. Future VA interventions may be better implemented in a targeted way so that appropriate patients are identified with characteristics which can best be addressed by the VA service.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 326-327
Author(s):  
Donald Gardenier ◽  
Joyce Knestrick ◽  
Cynthia Edwards-Tuttle

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Becker ◽  
Roberta Kaplow ◽  
Patricia M. Muenzen ◽  
Carol Hartigan

• Background Accreditation standards for certification programs require use of a testing mechanism that is job-related and based on the knowledge and skills needed to function in the discipline. • Objectives To describe critical care advanced practice by revising descriptors to encompass the work of both acute care nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists and to explore differences in the practice of clinical nurse specialists and acute care nurse practitioners. • Methods A national task force of subject matter experts was appointed to create a comprehensive delineation of the work of critical care nurses. A survey was designed to collect validation data on 65 advanced practice activities, organized by the 8 nurse competencies of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Synergy Model for Patient Care, and an experience inventory. Activities were rated on how critical they were to optimizing patients’ outcomes, how often they were performed, and toward which sphere of influence they were directed. How much time nurses devoted to specific care problems was analyzed. Frequency ratings were compared between clinical nurse specialists and acute care nurse practitioners. • Results Both groups of nurses encountered all items on the experience inventory. Clinical nurse specialists were more experienced than acute care nurse practitioners. The largest difference was that clinical nurse specialists rated as more critical activities involving clinical judgment and clinical inquiry whereas acute care nurse practitioners focused primarily on clinical judgment. • Conclusions Certification initiatives should reflect differences between clinical nurse specialists and acute care nurse practitioners.


1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
V Keough ◽  
J Jennrich ◽  
K Holm ◽  
W Marshall

The students and faculty enrolled in the first TNP class have set a standard for future TNPs: a rigorous course of education with advanced practice and scholarship within an advanced practice collaborative model. Because of the increasingly number of trauma victims and the highly specialized care they require, nurses must come forward and provide quality care. The TNPs and their faculty must promote further recognition of the TNP role, become leaders in the field of acute care, and continue to develop and maintain collaborative relationship with physicians in support of advanced practice nursing in many areas of tertiary care. The first three graduates of the trauma/critical care practitioner class are now employed in advanced practice roles and are applying their education within trauma/critical care settings. Two of the students are trauma nurse practitioners in a community hospital, and one is a critical care nurse practitioner in a university hospital. Currently, there is an acute care nurse practitioner certification examination that is appropriate for nurses in the field of trauma/critical care. Co-sponsored by the AACN Certification Corporation and the American Nurses Credentialing Center, this examination is offered twice a year, in June and October. AACN is active in supporting and promoting the TNP role and, in conjunction with the American Nurses Association, has developed new standards of care and scope of practice to include this expanded role for the advanced practice nurse. The future for this exciting and demanding role looks bright for the advanced practice nurse interested in the care of the acutely ill patient. The time is right for this collaboration between nurses and physicians.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 658-659
Author(s):  
Donald Gardenier ◽  
Lindsay Maxwell ◽  
Lili Cargill

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Petermann Garnica

Health care is inaccessible and too expensive for a large segment of the U.S. population. In addition, the past decade has produced many reports of significant problems related to safety, quality, and effectiveness in U.S. health care. The future of primary care is in question because of a current and projected worsening shortage of primary care physicians. A physician-led coordinated primary care model has been endorsed by major physicians groups as having the potential to address many of these problems. The model, also known as the “medical home,” has gained momentum and appears likely to play a central role as the nation moves forward to reform health care. Nurse practitioners have traditionally practiced “coordinated primary care” and are ideally suited to lead practices adopting this model of care. This article provides rationale for nurse practitioners to be fully recognized as team leaders of coordinated primary care practices.


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