The practice doctorate approach to assessing advanced nursing practice in Ireland

Abstract

Aim To describe the practice doctorate scholarly approach to assess advanced nursing practice in Ireland to address healthcare and nursing policy initiatives. Background A global team from Ireland and the United States collaborated with stakeholders, using a practice doctorate approach to identify geographic healthcare needs, the current state of the education and the evolving roles of advanced nursing practice. In Ireland, current policy initiatives call for expanding the capacity for advanced nurse practitioners to meet healthcare needs in community settings. Sources of Evidence Further assessment data were required from stakeholders to inform graduate nursing education to prepare advanced practice nurses to fulfil increasingly complex healthcare needs. The practice doctorate approach included review of literature, current policy and assessment with interviews, dialogue and the development of working relationships with policymakers, academics and practitioners. Discussion The current state and future vision of graduate nursing education are evolving. A force field analysis identified promoting and restraining factors to the desired state of development of the primary care advanced practice role. Relationship building with stakeholders and sharing of expertise was key to engage academia and policymakers to address identified restraining forces. Short‐term outcomes included development of collaborative relationships between practice, academia and policymakers, curricular development for the primary care nurse practitioner and intentionally shared dissemination to promote community graduate nursing education. Implications for Nursing Practice This innovative practice scholarship approach was used to assess and promote advanced nursing practice impact and promote the nursing profession globally. Implications for Policy Successful collaboration between two global partners was achieved to promote policy objectives for both nursing and health care, with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes and population health.

Practice pathways, education, and regulation influencing nurse practitioners’ decision to provide primary care: a rapid scoping review

“…In Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands there are few primary care nursing courses [ 37 , 54 , 55 ]. While Irish Universities are willing to expand their offerings in primary care, there is no clear path to actualisation [ 54 ].…”

“…In Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands there are few primary care nursing courses [ 37 , 54 , 55 ]. While Irish Universities are willing to expand their offerings in primary care, there is no clear path to actualisation [ 54 ]. Most NPs in Australia practice in acute care settings, which has raised concerns in response to increasing societal primary care needs [ 48 , 56 ].…”

“…Accreditation assures professional nursing organisations’ involvement in curriculum development and learning outcomes [ 78 ]. While this review yielded results of transitional programs only from the US, two articles from Ireland [ 54 ] and Australia [ 81 ] suggested that primary care residency programs similar to those offered in the US could be beneficial for NP role-preparation.…”

“…While there were few non-US studies, a recurring theme was the ambiguous role of primary care NPs within the health system due to ineffective or insufficient policy and governance [ 54 , 55 , 59 , 72 ]. For example in the Netherlands, while the NP hospital role is well established, integrating NPs into primary care is relatively new, with suggestions that a lack of international guidance has prevented standardising the NP role and created role confusion [ 55 ].…”

“…Similarly in Ireland, the Slάintecare policy was developed to increase NP services in areas of need, including primary care. When the definitions of primary care and the NP role were identified as being unclear, a national project sought international consultation to help define the role, leading to the development of robust regulation and postgraduate continuing education for NPs [ 54 ].…”