Professional practice of pediatric nurse practitioners: implications for education and training of PNPs.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of employment, the characteristics of children served, and the role functions of recent graduates of pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP) programs and to compare these characteristics across programs. METHOD: A 60-item multiple-choice survey tool was sent to graduates from 1996-1998 of 6 universities across the United States. RESULTS: A total of 137 surveys were received for a return rate of 52%. Less than half of the respondents (44%) indicated that they were employed in a primary care practice. Seventy percent indicated they "often" or "sometimes" provided care to children with acute/critical conditions, and 77% reported caring for children with chronic conditions. Role functions of case management, staff development, consultation, administration, and implementation of research were performed "often" or "sometimes" by more than 50% of respondents. Findings were fairly consistent in 5 out of 6 programs surveyed. DISCUSSION: Graduates of PNP programs are increasingly called on to provide care to children with complex health care needs in non-primary care settings. Role functions beyond the traditional areas required for pediatric primary care are now common practice. Educational programs should address these dynamic changes by assessing the adequacy of their curricula and clinical residencies in preparing graduates.

Advanced practice in pediatric nursing: blending roles.

In the past, pediatric advanced practice nurse's roles were the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) in the inpatient setting and the Nurse Practitioner (NP) in the outpatient setting. With health care system changes, such as the shifting and blurring boundaries between inpatient and outpatient care, changes were required in the graduate curricula to blend the CNS and NP roles into an advanced practice nurse (APN) role. This article describes the model at Rush University, the advantages of the CNS/NP blended role, the revised APN curriculum, and examples of blended-role APNs in action. The curriculum change to blend the CNS/NP roles addresses the need for the blended APN role in changing health care systems.

Advocating for continuing nursing education in a pediatric hospital: the Prince Scholar and Sabbatical Programs.

As nurses gain more experience, they often question the basis of nursing practice and want to find the most current and accepted methods of providing nursing care. Attending seminars, conferences, and continuing education programs is often difficult because of financial and staffing constraints. The authors describe the design and implementation of two funded programs--the Prince Scholars and Sabbatical Programs--that support continuing nursing education in a pediatric tertiary hospital.

Supporting nursing research. A representative program.

As nurses gain more experience, they often question the basis of nursing practice and want to find answers through clinical nursing research. Completion of a research project, however, often is difficult because of staffing constraints. The authors describe the design and conception of two funded programs that support clinical nursing research in a pediatric tertiary hospital.

A new developmental screening test. The Denver II.

To maximize the potential of a child with a developmental delay, early detection and intervention is essential (Frankenburg and Thornton, 1989). The nurse practitioner who includes a developmental screening with the child's general assessment may detect a developmental delay during a routine office visit. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the Denver II, a new developmental screening test.