Research on Advanced Practice Nurses and Their Contribution to Patients, Teams, and System Outcomes
Research on Advanced Practice Nurses and Their Contribution to Patients, Teams, and System Outcomes
Theory-based research on APRNs’ contributions to improved patient outcomes and cost-effectiveness is needed to inform and validate the conceptualizations of advanced practice nursing. Increased knowledge about advanced practice nursing is critical (see Chapter 23). The worth of any service depends on the extent to which practice meets the needs and priorities of health care systems, the public policy arena, and society in general. In addition to research that links advanced practice nursing with outcomes, the following recommendations are put forth:
1. 1. Promising conceptual models of advanced practice nursing should be refined based on research that validates key concepts and tests theoretical propositions associated with these models.
2. 2. Studies are needed to examine advanced practice nursing across APRN roles and between physician and APRN practices with regard to processes and outcomes. Studies conducted across APRN roles can determine whether the assumption that all APRNs use a core set of competencies is valid, and the activities that differentiate one APRN role from another. The studies of APRN and physician practice can identify the factors that distinguish APRN practice from physician practice as a basis for understanding differences in outcomes and developing proposals to optimally use each provider to achieve high-quality, patient-centered, cost-effective care.
3. 3. As conceptualizations of interprofessional teams evolve, the roles and contributions of APRNs and their interdisciplinary colleagues to outcomes need examination.
When there is a better empirical understanding of the similarities and differences across APRN roles and between physicians and APRNs, this knowledge must be packaged and presented to colleagues in other disciplines, policymakers, and the public. These data will be key to educating physician colleagues, health care consumers, and policymakers about the meaning and relevance of advanced practice nursing to the health of our society.
Conclusion
Consensus regarding a conceptual model of advanced practice nursing is needed to guide practice, research, and public policy. The future of advanced practice nursing depends on the extent to which practice meets the needs and priorities of society, health care systems, and the public policy arena. A stable, robust model of advanced practice nursing will serve to guide the development of advanced practice nursing and ensure that patients will have access to APRN care.
Issues, limitations, and imperatives related to conceptualizing advanced practice nursing have been identified in this review of conceptual models of APRN practice. The nursing profession, nationally and internationally, remains at a critical juncture with regard to advanced practice nursing. In each country in which APRNs practice, the need to move forward with a unified voice on this issue is urgent if APRNs and the nursing profession as a whole are to fulfill their social contract with the individuals, institutions, and communities. A unified conceptualization of advanced practice nursing focuses the efforts of the profession on preparing APRNs, promulgating policies, and fostering research to enable the realization of the outcomes, including maximizing the social contribution of APRNs to the health needs of society and promoting the actualization of APRNs.
Reference book is
Hamric, A.B., Hanson, C.M., Tracy, M. F. & O’Grady, E. T. (2019). Advanced practice nursing: An integrative approach, (6th ed.). Saunders. ISBN: 9780323447751.
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