NONPF 39th Annual Meeting
Family Nurse Practitioner Students
Challenges exist in advanced practice nursing (APN) education to provide nurse practitioner students with a complex array of advanced skills and clinical abilities prior to graduation. With limited hours in actual clinical rotations, APN educators are pressed to provide students with the full complement of experiences that would result in a novice clinician, entering the health care system for the first time as a nurse practitioner, with the capability to deliver optimal patient care.
The purpose of this presentation is to highlight an innovative teaching method that provided family nurse practitioner students (FNPS) with a realistic clinical activity that:
- promoted enhanced health history taking, assessment & management skills
- fostered development of critical thinking abilities
- experienced the autonomous role of the nurse practitioner
A pilot project was developed to present a group of FNPS, using a telephone triage system, with case scenarios that would prepare them for their future professional “on call” clinical responsibilities. A faculty member and a group of experienced nurse practitioners, enrolled in a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, developed and enacted these scenarios as part of a fictional clinic.
FNP students were assigned a schedule for their telephone “on call” experiences and DNP students assumed the role of the “patient”. Utilizing standardized instructions, the “patient” would interact with the FNPS, with a time limit of 10 minutes. At the end of the call, an assessment and management plan was provided to the “patient” and a SOAP note was emailed to the DNP student, based on the FNPS clinical findings. In addition, the FNPS were required to submit a reflective journal on their experiences. The faculty member and DNP students would then assess and discuss the outcomes and reflections with the students.
FNPS reported this to be a highly positive experience, noted development of abilities in an area of essential clinical responsibility as well as expanded their appreciation and understanding of the role of the nurse practitioner utilizing self-reflection
