FACTORS AFFECTING PERFORMANCE OF ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSING PRACTICE (NURSE PRACTIONER, CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALIST).
Contributors: Virginia Commonwealth University.
Published: 1996
Number of pages: 100
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Increasing utilization of advanced practice nurses in primary care and in hospital settings has led to debate about similarities and differences between clinical nurse specialist and nurse practitioner role functions.

The purpose of this study was to inform the policy issue regarding the merge of NP and CNS roles into a singular advanced practice nursing role. This was done by identifying practice activities that NPs and CNSs perform in common and those that are unique, and by examining the effect of certain advanced practice nurse attributes on performance of advanced practice activities.

The population for this study included adult, gerontological, medical-surgical, and community health certified clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners. The data set was originally constructed for the Division of Nursing of Health Resources and Services Administration's Survey of Characteristics and Distribution of Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Specialists (Washington Consulting Group, 1994). A secondary analysis of this data set was used to determine the influence of role, setting, experience, education, and specialty on practice activities.

Using factor analysis sixty-two practice activities were categorized into seven factors that were consistent with Fenton and Brykczynski's model of advanced practice nursing. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that role and specialty were important factors affecting practice. Experience and setting were less significant as indicators of practice. Level of education played little role in predicting practice.

These findings do not demonstrate support for merging the NP and CNS roles. It is recommended that schools of nursing prepare advanced practice nurse as either NPs or CNSs utilizing a common core curriculum with an emphasis on role and specialty.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-04, Section: B, page: 2480.

Thesis (PH.D.)--VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY, 1996.

School code: 2383.