Role of the Advanced Nurse Practitioner Within Teenage and Young Adult Oncology. What is the Impact on Patient and Staff Experience of a New Nurse Practitioner Role to a Teenage and Young Adult Service?

ABSTRACT

Background: Advanced Practice is recognized by the Royal College of Nursing as a distinctive level of practice encompassing direct care provision, education, research, and management. Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANP) are educated to MSc level and assessed as competent in their field. A teenage and young adult advanced nurse practitioner (TYA ANP) was introduced in 2015, one of few within the United Kingdom. This service evaluation assesses the impact of the new role on patient and staff experience. Aims/Objectives: To evaluate the impact of TYA ANP role on the experience of TYA oncology patients and the multidisciplinary team (MDT) and to assess perception of quality, safety, and efficiency of this role. Methodology: Retrospective data collection using Australia Nurse Practitioner Study Questionnaire to MDT and patients treated within the TYA unit since the ANP role was introduced. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze outcomes of the data collected. Results: Eighty-six percent of patients and 90% of staff felt they understood the ANP role. While 100% of patients felt the TYA ANP service was a success, met their needs, prescribed correctly, offered holistic and safe care, and had a positive impact on care. Furthermore, 86% of patients felt the TYA ANP service was easy to use and 90% of staff felt the TYA ANP service met the needs of the patients. Discussion/Conclusion: Overall patients and staff reported a positive experience particularly on correct diagnosis, safe prescribing, and having a positive impact on care. Areas for improvement include wider understanding of the role.