Abstract
Nurse Practitioners (NPs) receive core clinical training at master’s level, with their
employer providing the opportunity to upskill in clinical and procedural competencies.
It is increasingly recognised that this generic education requires supplementary training
for operating effectively within a specific clinical environment. In this paper we
describe a pilot program designed to train Australian NP Candidates to work effectively
within the Emergency Department Fast Track model of care. The training program consisted
of a 12-month period: four hours in-house training per week over two semesters, running
concurrently with the NP candidate’s University semesters, and 3 months’ clinical
practice to consolidate. The training team defined milestones for Semesters one and
two, and developed a case review form to assess application of the candidate’s knowledge
in new clinical situations, as well as check for gaps in understanding. A clinical
skills guide was developed for the candidate to work toward, and a comprehensive assessment
was carried out at two time points in the training program. Feedback was obtained
from the mentors and the candidate at the end point of the training program, and has
been used to refine the program for 2017. This in-house training program provided
specialised, evidence-based training for the emergency department environment, resulting
in development of the nurse practitioner candidate as a high functioning team member.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 16, 2017
Accepted:
July 27,
2017
Received in revised form:
July 27,
2017
Received:
March 29,
2017
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 College of Emergency Nursing Australasia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
