The Role of the Advanced Practice Provider in Bone Health Management for the Prostate Cancer Population.

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is standard, first-line therapy for many aspects of prostate cancer treatment. Although ADT can be an effective treatment to inhibit androgen-fueled cell growth in prostate cancer, suppressi.

Improving Quality and Cost of the Oncology Advanced Practice Provider Chemotherapy Privileging Process.

BACKGROUND: Managing antineoplastic orders, side effects, and symptoms is a primary role of oncology advanced practice providers (APPs). Antineoplastic management (ANM) is complex because of risk of medication errors, narrow therapeutic range of agents, frequent dose adjustments, and multiple drug regimens. OBJECTIVES: This article describes an academic institution's review of current practice for ANM privileging and employing Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles to develop a revised process relevant to APP practice, addressing efficiency, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness. METHODS: Using consecutive PDSA cycles, the team revised the didactic portion of the ANM privileging process and collaborated with nurses, pharmacists, and physicians for mentoring expertise. FINDINGS: The revised process resulted in increased relevance of ANM didactic content while requiring 75% less time to complete. To date, all ANM-privileged APPs at the institution (N = 49) have completed the revised ANM privileging process, with a 100% pass rate on the competency assessment.

Feasibility of performing treadmill walking test for patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease by the advanced practice nurses.

AIM: The treadmill walking test with post-exercise pressure measurement can be used as a diagnostic test and could classify peripheral arterial disease of the lower limbs. It can also exclude the diagnosis allowing to raise the possibility of differential diagnoses. In this study, we assessed the feasibility of performing treadmill test by advanced practice nurse to assess suspected lower extremity peripheral artery disease patients. DESIGN AND METHOD: This is a longitudinal monocentric study to assess the feasibility of a treadmill walking test performed by an advanced practice nurse. The primary endpoint was the number of tests performed during this period. The secondary objectives were to evaluate the reasons for requesting the test, the main results obtained in terms of the test's contribution and diagnoses, and patients' clinical characteristics. RESULTS: From February to May 2023, amongst 31 patients who underwent the treadmill walking test, 4 tests were able to rule out peripheral arterial disease and to detect differential diagnoses. For the remaining 27 patients, 4 had stage IIa of the Leriche classification, 23 had stage IIb, 2 of which were associated with a narrow lumbar spine. In contrast to the usual report, the APN's report on the walking test included an identification of cardiovascular risk factors, as well as a possible medical reorientation linked to the correction of a detected cardiovascular risk factor. CONCLUSION: The treadmill walking test can be performed by an advanced practice nurse. He/She added a comprehensive/global patient management, with the detection of cardiovascular risk factors. This new profession led to an increase in the number of tests performed of more than 50% over the period and reduced the time to access the test.

Obesity-related knee osteoarthritis: a role for the rheumatology advanced nurse practitioner in Ireland.

Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in Ireland with knee osteoarthritis the most common presentation. One in five women and one in 10 men over the age of 60 in Ireland are diagnosed with osteoarthritis. The causative factors are multifactorial, but the increasing incidence of obesity is contributing greatly to the occurrence of osteoarthritis of the weight-bearing joints. The rheumatology advanced nurse practitioner is an autonomous clinical practitioner and potential solution to the growing numbers of people needing interventions for osteoarthritis, due to their ability to assess, diagnose, treat, and discharge these patients who ordinarily would be assessed from a medical waiting list. As obesity is becoming increasingly prevalent, it is important to address this with the patient cohort to try to reduce the burden of disease and treat not only the symptomatic knee osteoarthritis but the causative factors and provide patient-centred care.

Designing a Mentorship Program for APRNs in Specialty Palliative Care Practice.

ABSTRACT: As advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) enter practice, support is crucial for success. Formal mentorship has been shown to improve employee turnover, job satisfaction, and clinical competence. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, an APRN team specializing in palliative care experienced an unprecedented rate of staff turnover. As a result, the team decided to create a formal mentorship program to support newly hired colleagues and assist their transition to practice. A subcommittee of APRNs within the palliative care practice met to establish a mentorship practice framework, expectations for the program, and a methodology for matching mentors and mentees. The mentorship program was implemented with two cohorts comprising a total of five mentors and six mentees. It was evaluated by participants using surveys asking open-ended, qualitative questions. Both mentors and mentees reported finding the program valuable. Mentees felt the program helped their transition to practice, created a forum for peer support, and improved their clinical competence. Mentors said the program furthered their own professional development, advanced their clinical growth, and fostered a connection to colleagues. Employee engagement and alignment improved, and staff turnover decreased. Further work is needed to improve on the program framework and analyze the outcomes of mentorship.

Designing and implementing an Advanced Nurse Practice in Critical Care programme from a university perspective within Northern Ireland.

The number of advanced practice roles in healthcare is increasing in response to several factors such as changes in medical education, economic pressures, workforce shortages and the increasing complexity of health needs of the population. The Advanced Critical Care Practitioner Curriculum, developed by the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine in the UK (United Kingdom), enables the development and delivery of a structured education programme which can contribute to addressing these challenges. This article outlines how one university designed and implemented this programme, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland.

[Collaboration between advanced practice nurses and physicians: a tool to enhance the care offered]. / La collaboration entre l'IPA et le médecin, un outil au service de l'offre de soins.

The role of advanced practice nursing in France is still in its definition phase. While the prefiguration of the model was mainly in primary care, notably through the activities of the Asalée association, the first university graduates are mainly future hospital professionals, with a specialized orientation. Whether working in general or organ medicine, the advanced practice nurse (APN) is committed to making the patient's care experience more fluid, as part of a multi-professional team. Thanks to the acquisition of new skills and a structuring legal framework, collaboration between doctors and APNs is becoming a lace-making process, to best meet local needs.

'We are pulled to the four corners': Qualitative role descriptions of advanced practice children's nurses in Malawi.

PURPOSE: This study investigated emerging roles among specialist child health nurses (CHNs) in Malawi. Advanced nursing role development is globally advocated. Nursing role descriptions provide an evidential basis for workforce planning. Rigorously developed role descriptions are scarce worldwide, especially for Africa. Advanced nursing roles were introduced in Malawi's child health system a decade ago. DESIGN AND METHODS: We followed guidance on generating nursing role descriptions to collect and analyse qualitative data from interviews and focus groups, using qualitative content analysis. We used COREQ reporting standards. RESULTS: More than half (41/80) of Malawi's child health nursing workforce participated. Richly descriptive accounts of roles elicited three themes: leading and developing new services and improving existing ones; holding rare knowledge which uplifts care quality; and responsibility for developing the role. These responsibilities are experienced as a privilege and a burden, often meaning CHNs are 'pulled to the four corners'. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: We found evidence of remarkable achievements by Malawi's CHNs but also suggestions that they are under heavy strain. Because multi-stakeholder agreement about role content is crucial to successfully implementing advanced nursing roles, we hope the approach taken by this study, and the information generated, could be useful as part of human resources for health strategy development in other lower-resourced countries globally.

Can Artificial Intelligence Be Utilized to Predict Real-Time Adverse Outcomes in Individuals Arriving at the Emergency Department With Hyperglycemic Crises?: Implications for APRN Practice.

This column on translating research into practice is crafted to offer advanced practice registered nurses an analysis of current research topics that hold practical relevance for emergency care settings. The article titled "Using Artificial Intelligence to Predict Adverse Outcomes in Emergency Department Patients With Hyperglycemic Crises in Real Time," authored by C. Hsu et al. (2023), investigates through a randomized control trial, the effectiveness of artificial intelligence as a practical tool compared with the traditional predicting hyperglycemic crisis death score to clinically predict adverse outcomes in individuals presenting to the emergency department with hyperglycemic crises. The results are discussed in the context of averting adverse outcomes associated with sepsis/septic shock, intensive care unit admission, and all-cause mortality within a 1-month time frame.

[The new nursing professions in psychiatry: One man's dream, another man's nightmare?] / Les nouvelles professions infirmières en psychiatrie, rêve des uns, cauchemar des autres ?

The deployment of case management and advanced nursing practice is shaking up the roles of the various professionals on mental health teams, and the usual organization of care in psychiatry. These changes can be perceived as either positive or worrying, depending on each individual's role and position. For the past 3 years, the mobile teams of the Centre rive gauche cluster at Le Vinatier hospital have been organized according to the principles of Flexible Assertive Community Treatment, and include an advanced practice nurse (APN) on their staff. The roles of the case manager and the APN have been rethought. A number of measures have facilitated the implementation of these new functions.

[IPA's clinical expertise in the identification and assessment of somatic pain in schizophrenic patients]. / Expertise clinique de l'IPA PSM dans le repérage et l'évaluation de la douleur somatique chez les personnes schizophrènes.

Identifying and assessing somatic pain in people with schizophrenia remains a major public health issue for this vulnerable population. In France, Advanced Practice Nursing is developing, based on a practice built around clinical expertise. How can the clinical expertise of psychiatric and mental health APNs improve the identification and assessment of somatic pain in these patients, and thus help to improve their somatic health?

[IPA in primary care: a new gateway to the healthcare system]. / L'IPA en soins primaires : une nouvelle porte d'entrée dans le système de santé.

In France, the supply of healthcare services remains insufficient to meet the growing needs of the population, which has prompted the legislator to authorize direct access to certain professionals, in particular advanced practice nurses (APNs) working in coordinated practice structures. This article details an innovative multi-professional pathway in a nursing home, where the APN takes direct charge of people without a general practitioner, with the aim of improving their access to care and reintegrating them into the healthcare system.

Content of medicine prescription and clinical practice training for haematology advanced practice nurses in China: A modified Delphi study.

AIM: To explore the scope and form of prescriptions for blood and hematopoietic drugs that future advanced practice nurses (APNs) in the Department of Haematology and to establish a medicine prescription training content in China. BACKGROUND: Because the increasing number of doctors cannot meet the increasing demand for medical care with the population growth, many countries have begun to explore the medical team structure and practice areas, among which nurse prescribing rights have been the most effective. However, China's higher nursing education system still lacks education and training on nurse prescription. DESIGN: On the basis of literature research and semi-structured interviews, a set of nursing prescription content, education, training and practice system suitable for Chinese nurses was jointly created. METHODS: Two rounds of expert consultation between 23 haematology nursing experts and clinical experts determined the training content of blood system drugs and medicine prescriptions. Additionally, on the basis of the 23 experts，13 experts engaged in clinical and education, teaching and training experts were involved. Two rounds of expert consultation with 36 experts identified a general clinical practice training program for advanced practice nurses in China. RESULTS: Regarding contents and forms of hematopoietic drugs, the study concluded that advanced practice nurses in haematology department can prescribe anti-anemia drugs, anti-coagulant drugs and anti-thrombotic drugs in 2 categories and 16 drugs. Of these, four kinds of drugs should be prescribed in the form of protocol prescription. One kind of drug should be prescribed in the form of extended prescription and 11 drugs should be prescribed in the form of independent/extended or agreed/extended prescription. Regarding training content, the study obtained the training content of nurses' medicine prescriptions in eight clinical circumstances and the medicine prescription training content for common diseases of the blood system. The required specifications and the medicine prescription decision skills of nurses were sorted out according to different prescription types. CONCLUSIONS: The degrees of expert authority were both higher in consultations. Moreover, the results after consultation were reliable. It was recommended that haematology APNs could prescribe anti-anaemic drugs and anti-coagulation and anti-thrombotic drugs. Furthermore, most drugs should be prescribed in the form of independent/extended or agreed/extended prescriptions. The establishment of a medicine prescription training content for haematology APNs is expected to provide a reference for clinical practice education and training for drug prescriptive authority applicants for blood and hematopoietic system nurses in China.

Trends in the geographic inequality of advanced practice nursing workforce in cancer care in Japan from 1996 to 2022: a panel data analysis.

BACKGROUND: Cancer was ranked as the second leading cause of global mortality in 2019, with an increasing incidence. An adequate workforce of healthcare professionals with special skills and knowledge in cancer care is vital for addressing the disparities in cancer prognosis. This study aimed to elucidate the trends in the advanced practice nursing workforce (APNW) in cancer care, which included certified nurse specialists (CNSs) and certified nurses (CNs) in each prefecture of Japan from the system's inception to the present. Further, it sought to analyze the regional disparities and compare these trends with other healthcare resources to identify contributing factors associated with the APNW in cancer care in each prefecture. METHODS: We performed a panel data analysis using publicly available data on the APNW in cancer care in each prefecture of Japan from 1996 to 2022. Gini coefficients were calculated to examine the trends in geographic equality. Univariate and multivariable fixed effect panel data regression models were used to examine regional factors associated with an APNW in cancer care. RESULTS: From 1996 to 2012, the APNW in cancer care increased from four to 6982 staff, while their Gini coefficients decreased from 0.79 to 0.43. However, from 2012 to 2022, the Gini coefficients decreased slightly from 0.43 to 0.41. The coefficient value was comparable to that for the disparity between hospital doctors (0.43) but more pronounced compared to those for other medical resources, such as hospitals (0.34), hospital nurses (0.37), and designated cancer care hospitals (0.29). The APNW in cancer care in each prefecture was significantly associated with a higher number of designed cancer care hospitals in the previous year (see first quartile, the coefficient for second quartile: 0.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.21-0.40), and a fewer number of hospital doctors (- 1.89, 95%CI - 2.70 to - 1.09). CONCLUSIONS: The size of the APNW in cancer care has increased since the system was established in 1996 up till 2022. With the increase in numbers, geographic inequality narrowed until 2012 and has since then remained stagnant.

Child health nursing consultation and competencies for Advanced Practice Nurses.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze nurses' practice in child health nursing consultations and the presence of care management competencies proposed for Advanced Practice Nurses (APN). METHOD: Multicenter, exploratory sequential mixed methods research, carried out in 17 Basic Health Units in four Brazilian cities. Collection was carried out from May to July 2022 through filming of consultation and analysis of medical records. Consultations with compliance with the Nursing Process ≥50% were analyzed to identify the competencies proposed for APN. RESULTS: 24 child consultations carried out by 12 nurses were filmed. In the quantitative analysis, 11 nursing consultations, carried out by seven nurses, achieved ≥50% Nursing Process compliance. In the qualitative analysis of these consultations, some APN competencies in care management were identified, but incomplete. CONCLUSION: child health nursing consultations present weaknesses in carrying out the Nursing Process, and nurses demonstrated a partial and superficial application of the care management competencies proposed for APN.

Autonomia profissional do enfermeiro na atenção primária à saúde: perspectivas para a prática avançada / Professional autonomy of nurses in primary health care: perspectives for advanced practice / Autonomía profesional de los enfermeros en la atención primaria de salud: perspectivas para la práctica avanzada

Objetivo: Descrever como os enfermeiros atuantes na Atenção Primária identificam sua autonomia profissional no desenvolvimento das práticas de Enfermagem. Métodos: Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória, descritiva, de abordagem qualitativa. Participaram de entrevistas online 28 enfermeiros que atuam na Atenção Primária de um município do Sul do Brasil, entre o período de outubro de 2020 até fevereiro de 2021. Para tratamento dos dados, foi utilizada a análise de conteúdo temática. Resultados: Emergiram duas categorias: 1) Resolutividade das práticas da Enfermagem; 2) Respaldo nas regulamentações profissionais e evidências científicas. A Enfermagem dispõe de maior autonomia frente à atenção à saúde da mulher, Infecções Sexualmente Transmissíveis e no cuidado à pessoa com feridas, pois no momento da consulta do enfermeiro, despontam habilidades e competências para a tomada de decisão na prática clínica. Em relação à regulamentação para exercício profissional, os profissionais enfatizaram a importância dos protocolos para respaldar as ações. Conclusão: O protagonismo do enfermeiro e sucesso nas experiências indicam um caminho promissor para a discussão e implementação da Enfermagem de Prática Avançada no Brasil. (AU)

Objective: To describe how nurses working in Primary Care identify their professional autonomy in the development of Nursing practices. Methods: This is an exploratory, descriptive research with a qualitative approach. Twenty-eight nurses who work in Primary Care in a municipality in southern Brazil participated in online interviews, between October 2020 and February 2021. For data processing, thematic content analysis was used. Results: Two categories emerged: 1) Resolving nursing practices; 2) Support in professional regulations and scientific evidence. Nursing has greater autonomy in the care of women's health, Sexually Transmitted Infections and in the care of the person with wounds, because at the time of the nurse's consultation, skills and competences for decision-making in clinical practice emerge. Regarding regulation for professional practice, professionals emphasized the importance of protocols to support actions. Conclusion: The role of nurses and success in the experiences indicate a promising path for the discussion and implementation of Advanced Practice Nursing in Brazil. (AU)

Objetivo: Describir cómo los enfermeros que actúan en la Atención Primaria identifican su autonomía profesional en el desarrollo de las prácticas de Enfermería. Métodos: Se trata de una investigación exploratoria, descriptiva, con abordaje cualitativo. Veintiocho enfermeros que actúan en la Atención Primaria de un municipio del sur de Brasil participaron de entrevistas en línea, entre octubre de 2020 y febrero de 2021. Para el procesamiento de datos, se utilizó el análisis de contenido temático. Resultados: Emergieron dos categorías: 1) Prácticas resolutivas de enfermería; 2) Apoyo en normativa profesional y evidencia científica. La enfermería tiene mayor autonomía en el cuidado de la salud de la mujer, Infecciones de Transmisión Sexual y en el cuidado de la persona con heridas, porque en el momento de la consulta del enfermero emergen habilidades y competencias para la toma de decisiones en la práctica clínica. En cuanto a la regulación para la práctica profesional, los profesionales destacaron la importancia de los protocolos para apoyar las acciones. Conclusión: El papel de los enfermeros y el éxito de las experiencias indican un camino promisorio para la discusión e implementación de la Enfermería de Práctica Avanzada en Brasil. (AU)