Needs Assessment of the Nurse Practitioner Orientation to the Pediatric Emergency Department
Loading...
Date
2018-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
Recent political and economic changes, such as the Affordable Care Act and primary care
shortages, have led to overuse of the emergency department for non-urgent issues in adults as
well as children. Rapid utilization of nurse practitioners to deliver care to lower-acuity patients
reduces wait times, increases patient satisfaction, and relives the burden for providers to focus
care on the critically ill. However, there is limited evidence to define and inform the specific
criteria necessary to support adequate orientation and onboarding for this specialty area. This
project, in the form of a needs assessment, aimed to better understand the challenges of role
transition for nurse practitioners practicing at a large metropolitan pediatric hospital in the
Emergency Services department in the United States. The needs assessment was conducted
through a one-time electronic survey. The instrument used for measurement was the 16-item, 3
components, 5-point Likert Scale Nurse Practitioner Role Transition Scale (NPRTS) as well as
demographic data and open-ended questions to assess the description and perception of
orientation to the role and department. The results of the project indicate ease of transition to the
nurse practitioner role in the setting and strong feelings of education preparedness in primary
care certified practitioners as opposed to other certifications. However, the project identified
significant discrepancies in the perception and definition of formalized orientation and provided
data to support the use of evidence-based strategies that can guide development of formalized
orientation to support ease of role transition and improve job competency.
Description
Keywords
orientation, nurse practitioner, role transition