Nurse Practitioners: Remaining True to Nursing

JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 2019

Collegian, 2002

2015

Nurse Researcher, 2013

Background: At the time of this study (2009) the role of the nurse practitioner was new to the province of British Columbia. The provincial government gave the responsibility for implementing the role to health authorities. Managers of health authorities, many of whom were unfamiliar with the role, were responsible for identifying the need for the NP role, determining how the NP would function, and gaining team members' acceptance for the new role. Method: The purpose of the study was to explain the process of nurse practitioner role implementation as it was occurring and to identify factors that could enhance the implementation process. An explanatory, single case study with embedded units of analysis was used. The technique of explanation building was used in data analysis. Three primary health care settings in one health authority in British Columbia were purposively selected. Data sources included semi-structured interviews with participants (n=16) and key documents.

Journal of The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 2009

Purpose: The movement to the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) is progressing rapidly with new programs emerging and curricular documents being developed. We argue that the implementation of the DNP is a good move for nursing, provided that we use the opportunity to reconceptualize the core of advanced practice nursing, especially nurse practitioner (NP) practice.Data sources: Theory and research articles from nursing focused on advanced practice nursing, NPs, and doctoral education.Conclusions: The foundation of NP education is currently based essentially on borrowed or shared content in assessment, pharmacology, and pathophysiology. We argue that the heart and soul of nursing is in health promotion, both in healthy persons and in those dealing with chronic illness. Current master’s programs do not prepare NPs to assume high-level practice focused on health promotion and disease management using the latest theoretical developments in health behavior change, behavioral sciences, exercise physiology, nutrition, and medical anthropology. Although these are touched upon in most NP programs, they do not represent the core science of NP education and need to be a critical part of any DNP program.Implications for practice: Ultimately, our vision is for NP care to be consistently “different,” yet just as essential as physician care, leading to positive outcomes in health promotion and disease management.

Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 2015

Purpose: To highlight the importance of advanced practice nurses (APNs) becoming politically engaged as key to promoting the healthcare interests of patients, communities and the profession and to offer specific strategies on how to become politically competent. Data sources: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, CINAHL, PubMed. Conclusions: APNs must come to see political engagement as a professional obligation and health policy as something that they can shape rather than something that happens to them. Implications for practice: The overall goal of healthcare reform is the provision of quality, safe and cost-effective healthcare for all Americans. APNs are graduate prepared clinicians that focus on health and illness management and are strategically positioned to lead the way in shaping and implementing health policy priorities.

Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 2010

Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2007

The core role of the nurse practitioner: practice, professionalism and clinical leadership Abstract Aim. To draw on empirical evidence to illustrate the core role of nurse practitioners in Australia and New Zealand. Background. Enacted legislation provides for mutual recognition of qualifications, including nursing, between New Zealand and Australia. As the nurse practitioner role is relatively new in both countries, there is no consistency in role expectation and hence mutual recognition has not yet been applied to nurse practitioners. A study jointly commissioned by both countries' Regulatory Boards developed information on the core role of the nurse practitioner, to develop shared competency and educational standards. Reporting on this study's process and outcomes provides insights that are relevant both locally and internationally. Method. This interpretive study used multiple data sources, including published and grey literature, policy documents, nurse practitioner program curricula and interviews with 15 nurse practitioners from the two countries. Data were analysed according to the appropriate standard for each data type and included both deductive and inductive methods. The data were aggregated thematically according to patterns within and across the interview and material data. Findings. The core role of the nurse practitioner was identified as having three components: dynamic practice, professional efficacy and clinical leadership. Nurse practitioner practice is dynamic and involves the application of high level clinical knowledge and skills in a wide range of contexts. The nurse practitioner demonstrates professional efficacy, enhanced by an extended range of autonomy that