Maintaining Speed on the Highway of Change: Keeping up with Societal Forces Impacting Nurse Practitioner Education and Practice

As national, environmental, political, financial, regulatory and cultural forces affecting health and health care evolve, they continuously impact on nurse practitioner (NP) education and practice.  Most NP students return to school enthusiastic to learn how to competently provide one-to-one care for patients and families...within the context of the community frequently is of less priority and interest to them.  Some even find approaching the complexities of population health and the greater impact of all societal forces such as health policy, health care reform, national initiatives, accreditation and regulatory changes as unnecessary for their immediate goals.  Thus, students may reluctantly enroll in some of the “less clinical” courses as merely a means to the end although this is an essential component of the advanced practice core.    Understanding and appreciation of these national forces is critical for effective NP practice.  For faculty, the challenge is to immediately capture students’ interest in looking at health care issues beyond the hospital bedside or the outpatient treatment room. 

This presentation will discuss the evolution of two required NP courses (5 credits total over two semesters) that by virtue of necessity created by societal forces, change substantially  each year -sometimes even as the courses progress, e.g. the March 23, 2010 passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The presenters will share their creative educational strategies to engage NP students, early in their graduate careers, to value and incorporate this broader view of health care and professional practice.  Early integration of the  NONPF competencies, expert led interactive discussions (some with other health professions students), immediate application of course content into comprehensive group case studies and community service-learning experiences;  these every changing  societal forces and their impact on NP education, practice and, ultimately, health outcomes are integrated into a “lived” experience for NP students.