Acute Care Nurse Practitioner: An Advanced Practice Role for RN First Assistants

Abstract

Acute care nurse practitioners (ACNPs) are advanced practice RNs who are educationally prepared to provide advanced nursing care to patients with complex acute, critical, and chronic illness. The education of advanced practice nurses should prepare them for the setting in which they practice; ACNPs are well prepared for hospital and specialty practice, particularly if they have experience as RN first assistants (RNFAs). This article provides a brief overview of the ACNP opportunity for RNFAs and the importance of additional training for ACNPs without OR experience who may be first assisting.

Practice audit of the role of the Non‐medical surgical assistant in Australia, an online survey

“…18,76 The perioperative NP is equipped to provide acute, advanced care in all phases of the perioperative cycle to patients with critical, complex and chronic conditions. 77 Questions regarding scope of practice sought to address whether the NMSA in Australia supports mentoring, contributes to theatre efficiencies and cost saving; whether there is a divergence in advanced practice tasks due to qualifications and what professional tasks are undertaken.…”

Surgical Skills for the APRN Student: A Low-Fidelity Simulation Experience

“…AORN officially recognizes and supports the role of the APRN in the perioperative setting (AORN, 2013). As Schroeder (2008) identifies, the role of the APRN in the perioperative setting is ideally suited to perioperative nurses and the Registered Nurse First Assistants (RNFA) who desire to take on an advanced practice role. The RNFA is currently an unrecognized advanced practice role in the field of nursing and unfamiliar to both the RN and NP.…”

“…Students and professionals without a perioperative specific background should not be discouraged from exploring a surgical area of practice however. AORN considers a formal RNFA training program the gold standard for training the operating room naïve APRN, as well as the experienced perioperative RN, to assume the role of the first assistant (Schroeder, 2008). Formal RNFA training programs are identical for both the RN and the APRN and are based upon an AORN established core curriculum.…”

“…Obtaining formal RNFA preparation can be valuable to the APRN when attempting to defend their scope of practice in litigation or in obtaining medical staff privileges. If attending a formal RNFA program is not an option, it is appropriate for a perioperative clinical nurse specialist or educator to instruct the ACNP on basic intra-operative skills to enhance patient safety prior to entering into the first assistant role (Schroeder, 2008).…”

“…Appendices……………………………………………………………………….. 55 ACNP interested in pursuing a career in a surgical setting would be required to enroll in a Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA) program (Schroeder, 2008). Many RNFA programs integrate NP competencies into the curriculum (Schroeder, 2008). The process can be unappealing to a practicing NP or new graduate NP because of the time commitment as well as the cost involved.…”