Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Practice: Results of a 5-Year Longitudinal Study

2005 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth M. Kleinpell

The role of acute care nurse practitioners (ACNPs) has developed in capacity. More than 3500 advanced practice nurses have been certified as ACNPs, and the number of practice settings where these professionals work is continually expanding. Beginning in 1996, a series of surveys were conducted of nurse practitioners seeking national certification as ACNPs. What started as an attempt to gather information on the role of ACNPs evolved into a national 5-year longitudinal survey of ACNP practice. The cumulative results of the project are reported, and how the role of the ACNP was established in advanced practice nursing is discussed.

1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 255-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
JM Clochesy ◽  
BJ Daly ◽  
BK Idemoto ◽  
J Steel ◽  
JJ Fitzpatrick

BACKGROUND: As a result of changes occurring in healthcare, providers have become increasingly specialized, resulting in fragmented care of patients and their families. With these changes, the need has developed for professionals who possess both advanced clinical decision-making ability and expanded psychomotor skills to serve as case managers in collaboration with physicians. As a result, evolving and innovative roles for advanced practice nurses have developed in American hospitals. The development of such roles, within the acute care hospital environment, has led directly to the creation of graduate programs to prepare acute care nurse practitioners. OBJECTIVE: This article describes the efforts to develop a specific graduate program to prepare nurses as acute care nurse practitioners. These efforts include the needs assessment, curriculum and role development, implementation, and evaluation of the program. RESULTS: Phase 1 evaluation showed significant support for acute care nurse practitioners. External support for the training and use of nurse practitioners in acute care was evidenced by significant financial support for this program provided by an acute care hospital and a private foundation. The first graduates are now practicing as acute care nurse practitioners; Phase 2 evaluation of patient outcomes is under way. CONCLUSION: The emergence of acute care nurse practitioners has been stimulated by changes in American healthcare. Support for the use of acute care nurse practitioners is significant, but barriers to implementing the role and patient and fiscal outcomes must be studied.


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.


2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 136-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Scharer ◽  
Mary Boyd ◽  
Carol A. Williams ◽  
Kathleen Head

BACKGROUND: Blended roles in advanced practice nursing have generated much discussion but little study. As role modifications emerge in nursing, there is a need to explore their implementation. OBJECTIVE: This descriptive study examined the experiences of nurses who were implementing blended roles as psychiatric clinical specialists and adult nurse practitioners. DESIGN: Four master of science in nursing and 10 postmasters nurses who had been practicing in blended roles for 1 to 2 years were interviewed about their experiences in implementing their roles. Interviews were tape recorded, transcribed, and content analyzed. RESULTS: Respondents believed they were practicing holistically, were able to appropriately integrate physical and psychological care of the patient, and found chronic psychiatric patients to have more complex physical illnesses than they had anticipated. In addition, the advanced practice nurses were satisfied with their roles, felt supported by their physician preceptors, and described cross-consultation with physicians and nonpsychiatric nurse practitioners. CONCLUSIONS: There are roles for advanced practice nurses who blend clinical specialist and adult nurse practitioner skills in the care of psychiatric and primary care patients.


2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean B. Lazarus ◽  
Belinda (Wendy) Downing

The Mayday Scholars Program for 2001-2002 provided an opportunity to boards of nursing to present their experiences in monitoring the prescribing practices of advanced practice nurses and to research ways for improving their own investigation processes as professional disciplinary agencies for prescribing practices related to pain management. The Alabama Board of Nursing was interested in participating in the program based on its commitment to accountability for public protection. A gradual increase in disciplinary cases involving violations of prescribing practices by certified registered nurse practitioners (CRNPs) prompted our inquiry as to whether a proactive monitoring system was needed to determine compliance with regulations for advanced practice nurses in collaborative practice.In this article, we discuss selected elements related to pain management and regulatory factors, including nursing, that affect the treatment of pain. We present a brief overview of the evolution of advanced practice nursing, with an emphasis on the nurse practitioners movement, and prescription practices and pain management by nurse practitioners.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Scanlon ◽  
Janice Smolowitz ◽  
Judy Honig ◽  
Katie Barnes

Aims and Objectives: This article aims to provide an overview of the history of advanced practice nursing, including regulation, education, and faculty practice of nurse practitioners/advanced practice nurses from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Background: Clinical nursing education has evolved from the apprenticeship model to the multiple learning methods that are employed today. The faculty practice model has the most promise and maybe the new frontier to achieve excellence in clinical education. Design: Discursive paper. Methods: Advanced practice nursing clinical education will be discussed, current trends presented, and future educational directions considered. The essential characteristics of an effective clinical educator and the ideal context for clinical education will be highlighted with the goal of educating for clinical excellence. Contemporary practices of a nurse practitioner regulation and education will be examined. Conclusions: Faculty practice in advanced practice nursing requires critical elements, which include role modeling, financial sustainability, teaching credibility, translation of research to practice, and clinical expertise. Challenges to a functional context include conflicting regulatory issues, limited scope of practice, external agency restrictions, and lack of institutional support. Relevance to clinical practice: It is essential to understand the ideal characteristics and context for effective advanced practice clinical education and identify specific challenges within each country’s functional contexts that prevent effective advanced practice clinical education. Strategies to address these current challenges and to enhance clinical excellence to maximize the effectiveness of advanced practice nursing education.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-58
Author(s):  
J. F. L.

Nurse Practitioners: Nurse practitioners (NPs), who have nine to 24 months of education beyond an RN and some of whom have masters degrees, are allowed in some states to work "in collaboration" with physicians, consulting with them only as necessary. Other states require advanced practice nurses to work with varying degrees of physician supervision. There are about 25,000 NPs in practice, and the American Nurses Association says there are four job openings for every certified nurse practitioner. Their median income is in the $40,000 range.


CHEST Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 152 (6) ◽  
pp. 1339-1345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie A. Hoffman ◽  
Jane Guttendorf

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.


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