Comparison of past and current barriers to novice nurse practitioner practice: The California perspective

Mentoring novice NPs: Recommendations for navigating the transition to autonomous practice

ABSTRACT

The transition to professional practice is a challenging time for the novice NP. Mentorship is an effective strategy to ease this transition and increase success in the role. This article provides recommendations for best practice in mentoring the transitioning novice NP.

Knowledge and attitudes of primary care physicians toward the nurse practitioner role in the Kingdom of Bahrain

PURPOSE

The Kingdom of Bahrain is facing a number of challenges, including an escalating cost of health services, increasing incidence of chronic diseases, and shortage of primary care physicians (PCPs). Introducing the nurse practitioner (NP) specialty in the primary care setting is one way to meet these challenges. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the knowledge and attitudes of PCPs about the NP role prior to and following an educational intervention.

DATA SOURCES

The modified Northern Emergency Nurse Practitioner Staff Survey was used to measure the PCPs' attitudes and knowledge. A total of 90 PCPs completed the pretest and posttest.

CONCLUSIONS

The study findings showed that PCPs had poor understanding of the NP role. Their knowledge and attitudes changed significantly after the educational intervention. Also, posttest data indicated a positive correlation between knowledge and attitudes toward the NP role.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

More educational preparation and orientation to the NP role for PCPs and other healthcare professionals are needed before the implementation of the role in the primary care setting in Bahrain. There is a need for the role to be clearly defined prior to implementation to help gain understanding and acceptance.