Description of Advanced Practice Nurses Interventions Through the Nursing Interventions Classification in Different Care Settings for Older People: A Qualitative Study

APN nurses' core competencies for general clinical health assessment in primary health care. A scoping review

BACKGROUND

The field of Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) has developed over the past six decades. However, the definition of roles and responsibilities of APN nurses seem to be contested due to both a lack of a clear definition of the concept and to institutional and cultural barriers that restrict the nurses' opportunities to practise to the full extent of their competencies.

AIM

The objective of this scoping review was to identify, examine and conceptually map the available literature on APN nurses' core competencies for general health assessment in primary health care.

METHOD

We performed a scoping review, following the methodological guidance for reporting as it is described by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). Furthermore, the PRISMA-ScR statement and checklist for reporting scoping reviews were followed. Guiding the initial process for the search, we used the Population, Concept and Context mnemonic (PCC) to clarify the focus and context of the review.

RESULTS

We found three areas of core competencies on which APN nurse draw in performing general health assessments in primary health care: (1) 'Collaborative, leadership and management skills' (2) 'Person-centred nursing care skills' and (3) 'Academic and educational skills'. Furthermore, we found that the three areas are interrelated, because it is crucial that APN nurses draw on collaborative competencies related to leadership and management to meet the service users' needs and deliver high-quality and person-centred care.

CONCLUSION

There is a need for a more specific investigation into how APN nurses' core competencies play a role during general health assessments of patients in primary care. We suggest an evaluation of what works for whom in what circumstances looking into the interrelation between competencies, skills and knowledge when an APN nurse performs a general health assessment in a primary healthcare setting.

Advanced Practice Nursing Competency Assessment Instrument (APNCAI): clinimetric validation

OBJECTIVE

To describe the development and clinimetric validation of the Advanced Practice Nursing Competency Assessment Instrument (APNCAI) through several evidence sources about reliability and validity in the Spanish context.

DESIGN AND SETTING

APNCAI development was based on a multisequential and systematic process: literature review, instrument content consensus through qualitative Delphi method approach (a panel of 51 Advanced Practice in Nursing -APN- experts was selected) and the clinimetric validation process based on a sample of 600 nurses from the Balearic Islands public healthcare setting.

METHODS

An initial step for tool's content development process based on Delphi method approach of expert consensus was implemented. A subsequent phase of tool validation started from the analysis of APN core competencies latent measurement model, including exploratory and confirmatory techniques. Reliability evidence for each latent factor was also obtained. Items' scores were submitted to descriptive analysis, plus univariate and multivariate normality tests.

RESULTS

An eight-factor competency assessment latent model obtained adequate fit, and it was composed by 'Research and Evidence-Based Practice', 'Clinical and Professional Leadership', 'Interprofessional Relationship and Mentoring', 'Professional Autonomy', 'Quality Management', 'Care Management', 'Professional Teaching and Education' and 'Health Promotion'.

CONCLUSIONS

Adequate empirical evidence of reliability and validity for APNCAI makes it useful for application in healthcare policy programmes for APN competency assessment in Spain.