DESIRED COMPETENCIES FOR NURSE PRACTITIONERS: A DELPHI STUDY OF MASTER'S LEVEL CURRICULUM PRIORITIES.
Contributors: University of Georgia.
Published: 1986
Number of pages: 208
Subjects: Education, Curriculum and Instruction.
Description: The nursing profession is currently making the transition from continuing education to master's level education for the preparation of nurse practitioners. This change, coupled with changes in the health care system increases the need to define standard critical content for all graduate nurse practitioner curricula.

This study identified an exploratory list of competency areas and specific competencies for nurse practitioners completing an educational program at the master's level. Six curriculum related research questions explored the opinions, concerns and preferences of a group of panelists.

Using three mailed survey questionnaires, a 41 member Delphi panel made up of nurse practitioner educators and clinicians, physicians, and nursing leaders developed a group of 17 competency areas and generated specific competencies for each category. Using feedback from previous rounds, the competencies were prioritized according to percentage of time for critical content within the curriculum. Results indicated that nurse practitioner curricula need to focus special attention on the areas of patient management, pharmacology, collaboration, and assessment.

Questions concerning the differences in master's level education and continuing education for nurse practitioners were explored. A well coordinated clinical experience with adequate time for interaction with clients was perceived as the major strength of continuing education programs and merited integration into master's level education.

No differences were found between the panel members prepared at the continuing education level and those prepared at the master's level with regard to the ways they viewed the competencies and critical content areas for nurse practitioner curricula.

The study was conceptualized as a means to assist curriculum designers who are planning new nurse practitioner programs or to assist nurse educators who are making a program transition to a graduate curriculum. Additional research needs to be carried out in order to bring nurse practitioner education under a national standard using a competency based curriculum.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-12, Section: A, page: 4276.

Thesis (ED.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, 1986.

School code: 0077.