American Association of Nurse Practitioners Research Agenda, 2023-2028.

ABSTRACT: This report highlights the 2023-2028 American Association of Nurse Practitioners Research Agenda (AANP-RA), which focuses on the research goals of AANP as an organization and is based on its mission and strategic plan. The purpose of the AANP Research Agenda is to outline research priorities that advance the AANP Strategic Plan and concurrently address gaps in nursing science. American Association of Nurse Practitioners supports research studies that are rigorously designed and conducted using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches, as well as implementation science with the potential to positively impact both NP practice and patient health outcomes. The AANP-RA strategy is guided by the PEARL acronym: examining NP Practice, Education, policy Advocacy, Research, and Leadership. A discussion of each area is presented along with suggested topics.

Competency-based curriculum in nurse practitioner education.

ABSTRACT: Professional nursing standards and guidelines form the foundation for nurse practitioner curriculum. Nurse educators should understand the role these professional standards and guidelines have in the development of curriculum. Recently, nursing education has moved to a competency-based education with the release of the new American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties Nurse Practitioner Role Core Competencies. Competency-based curriculum allows for a common understanding of the knowledge, skills, and experiences nurse practitioner graduates require for entry to practice. Competency-based education also provides consistent and uniform expectations for novice nurse practitioners on entry to practice. With the change to a competency-based curriculum, nurse educators can review and revise curriculum through refinement of courses, student learning objectives, assignments, and evaluations. Nurse educators have a responsibility to critically analyze student assignments and evaluations to ensure competencies are met multiple times through a variety of methods. In addition, nurse educators have the opportunity to use assignments that meet multiple competencies to modernize student learning. Refinement and revision lead to enhanced student critical thinking and provide opportunities for real-world training to improve student outcomes.

Telehealth Policy and the Advanced Practice Nurse.

Telehealth is an efficient and effective method of care delivery used by advance practice registered nurses (APRNs) nationally, especially in the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. With the ever-changing rules and regulations governing telehealth practice, the APRN may struggle to keep abreast. Telehealth is governed by legislation and regulation in addition to telehealth-specific laws. APRNs delivering care through telehealth must be informed about the crucial aspects of telehealth policy and how their practice is affected. Telehealth-related policy is complex and evolving and varies by state. This article provides APRNs with essential knowledge about telehealth-related policy to support legal and regulatory compliance.

Dissemination enhancement in Doctor of Nursing Practice students.

PURPOSE: Students in Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs graduate with a completed DNP Project focused on practice improvement utilizing evidence-based research. Despite the value in disseminating the DNP Project outcomes to an audience of interest, many DNP graduates do not pursue dissemination beyond conclusion of their project and graduation. METHODS: The DNP Project didactic course and the DNP Project manuscripts were revised with active learning assignments designed to improve knowledge, skills, and confidence in professional writing and dissemination. A cohort of 26 students was invited to participate in informal focus groups to determine impact of the revisions. The program director tracked the number of students accepted for conference presentations or manuscripts post-implementation. RESULTS: Of those invited to the focus groups, 25 students provided feedback. The students reported a perceived increase in competence and confidence in their ability to submit a professional abstract or manuscript for presentation or publication. Faculty noted an increase in the number of students who proceeded with dissemination of their DNP Project. CONCLUSION: Capturing the momentum for dissemination by revising the DNP Project didactic course and DNP Project manuscripts proved valuable for enhancing graduates disseminating professionally thus contributing to the translation of evidence-based practice into healthcare.

Impact of Infection Control Education on Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Procedural Staff.

To date, minimal research has been conducted on proper use of personal protective equipment and hand hygiene within endoscopy. The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy has developed guidelines for infection control within the endoscopy suite. A practice change based upon these guidelines was implemented. Education was provided to endoscopy procedural staff within a Midwestern hospital based upon the World Health Organization 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene initiative and included personal protective equipment. Knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the participant group were compared from paired pre- to posteducation surveys pertaining to hand hygiene and personal protective equipment. Observation of personal protective equipment use and hand hygiene implementation during procedures was also documented pre- to posteducation. The project results revealed both willingness to implement proper donning and doffing of personal protective equipment and improved technique as evidenced by improved observed technique with the endoscopy suite and moderately improved hand hygiene questionnaire results. Although conducted as a quality improvement project, clinical significance was found via observation following education. These practices can aid in reduction of organism transmission from patients to staff.

Tele-U to Tele-ICU: Telehealth Nursing Education.

BACKGROUND: The use of telehealth technology in various health care settings continues to expand. Such technology allows intensive care units to monitor patients living in remote locations and to intervene early when a patient's condition declines or a critical event occurs. The use of telehealth can also support nurses and help meet staffing challenges, which have increased in intensive care units during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, however, there are no formal requirements for telehealth education in nursing education or for telehealth orientation in nursing practice. OBJECTIVE: To develop a telehealth curriculum based on telehealth competencies that would be broad enough to encompass all educational levels of nursing students and to support the current nursing workforce. INTERVENTION: A telehealth curriculum was designed that included an overview of telehealth, camera considerations, equipment, troubleshooting, reimbursement, legislation, and quality measures. These topics were then organized and developed into 6 online interactive video modules and simulation experiences. The curriculum topics pertinent to the tele-intensive care unit are discussed in this article. CONCLUSIONS: Completion of the telehealth curriculum or a formal telehealth orientation session may provide nurses with an understanding of the principles of telehealth and the skills needed to provide high-quality patient care using telehealth best practices. As the use of telehealth continues to expand, nursing education and practice should work together to address the needs of the nursing workforce and staffing challenges, specifically in the intensive care unit setting.

Enhancing the nurse practitioner curriculum to improve telehealth competency.

ABSTRACT: Telehealth improves access to health care and has seen rapid expansion in recent years. Nurse practitioner (NP) students are expected to be able to use telehealth to provide health care on graduation; however, many programs of study do not include telehealth in the academic preparation of students. As a result, students feel unprepared to use telehealth to provide care to patients. To meet this need, a land-grant institution developed evidence-based competencies and curriculum to educate NP students in the area of telehealth. Curriculum included presentations, assignments, and simulation in the area of telehealth. Participants included 156 female and 15 male family nurse practitioner (FNP) students. Using a Likert scale from 1 (very unprepared) to 4 (very prepared), students indicated their knowledge and skill level for each telehealth competency area before and after the content delivery. Each competency demonstrated a significant increase in FNP student confidence and ability when comparing the pretest and posttest mean (p = .000). Outcomes of the project demonstrated the importance of including telehealth concepts into the curriculum for NP students to meet the needs and expectations of health care systems.

Improving health policy competency through collaboration and enhanced curriculum delivery.

Health policy is a key criterion for the academic preparation of nurse practitioners. To meet this criterion, faculty frequently utilize standard passive learning assignments that leave students feeling ill prepared to create and advocate for health policy upon graduation. To meet this need, faculty at two independent schools of nursing created curriculum to enhance health policy education for nurse practitioners. Using a variety of techniques based on real-world experience, nurse practitioner students gained increased retention of knowledge and increased activation in the health policy arena upon graduation. This finding supports that active learning increases retention and utilization in the area of health policy.

Reinforcing Telehealth Competence Through Nurse Practitioner Student Clinical Experiences.

BACKGROUND: Telehealth is becoming increasingly integral in providing improved access to care, especially for patients who reside in frontier and rural areas. Nurse practitioner (NP) faculty are charged with preparing NP students through curriculum and clinical experiences that align with the health care environment and the health care access needs of the populations they serve. METHOD: To meet this need, NP faculty at a land-grant university located in a frontier and rural midwestern state reinforced NP student telehealth curriculum and competency through application in a clinical environment. RESULTS: Participants included 22 family NP (FNP) students and 19 clinical preceptors. According to the evaluations, the FNP students met seven of the eight competency criteria, and the preceptors met eight of the 13 evaluation criteria. CONCLUSION: Outcomes indicate telehealth curriculum competency can be reinforced through application in a clinical setting to prepare NP students to meet the needs of patients and changing health care environments. [J Nurs Educ. 2020;59(7):413-417.].

Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment training for family nurse practitioner students.

ABSTRACT: Alcohol and substance-related disorders affect individuals throughout the global community. It is important that nurse practitioners understand the use of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) in recognizing these disorders before development of chronic disease conditions. The SBIRT curriculum was adapted and integrated in a family nurse practitioner program. After completion of the curriculum in the didactic setting, students used what they learned in a clinical setting. Following the experience, students reflected on the encounters leading to increased awareness of personal feelings. Students were able to use their training in patient encounters and identified a variety of thoughts and feelings about working with patients who screened positive for overuse of alcohol or substances. The SBIRT is an important component of the education of nurse practitioners. It is through timely screening and intervention that conditions can be addressed early in substance use disorder. It is important for students to be aware of personal thoughts and feelings when working with this population.