Throughputs
Support for Newly Licensed Nurse Practitioners
June 12, 2023 — Melanie Rainford, MSN, RN, NPD-BC
Increases in patient care complexity continue to catalyze a (not yet fulfilled) vast demand for safe quality healthcare services. Newly graduated and licensed nurse practitioners (NP) are positioned well to minimize this clinical care gap; however, they require proper transitional support. Transition-to-practice and fellowship programs for NPs standardize learning and support, and are a bridge to clinical practice. An article by nurse practitioners at Vanderbilt University’s School of Nursing (Hande, Jackson, & McClure, 2023) lists multiple actionable steps for the NPD practitioner to establish a successful program, as follows:
NP fellowship curricula should align with specialty competencies to reflect the scope and standards of that particular type of nursing practice… Professional development nurse educators and fellowship coordinators should construct a crosswalk of the specialty practice competencies with the Graduate Quality and Safety Education for Nurses, IOM Interprofessional Competencies, and the National Organization of NP Faculties NP Core Competencies… Professional development nurse educators’ talents should be leveraged to design evaluation tools, curricular components, and guidance of fellows through quality improvement initiatives. (p. 164)
If you are interested in reading more, please view the article in its entirety, and also be sure to follow the journal’s LinkedIn page.
The Journal for Nurses in Professional Development (JNPD) is the official publication of the Association for Nursing Professional Development. Online access to JNPD is a member benefit of the Association for Nursing Professional Development. Since 1985, JNPD has been the specialized source of information for NPD practitioners in all healthcare settings.
Interested in becoming a peer reviewer? If so, complete the JNPD Peer Reviewer: Role/Responsibilities & Application and email it—and a copy of your current CV—to JNPD Editor-in-Chief Kathleen Burke, PhD, RN, NPD-BC, CENP, FAAN
Reference
Hande, K., Jackson, H., McClure, N. (2023) Nurse practitioner transition to practice:
Recommendations and strategies for designing and implementing fellowships. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 39(3), pp 162-167. doi: 10.1097/NND.0000000000000818
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Melanie Rainford, MSN, RN, NPD-BC
Education Program Specialist and Nurse Planner
Melanie Rainford is a board-certified nurse leader, with over 16 years of clinical nursing and professional development experience, specializing in the design, implementation, and evaluation of professional development initiatives, projects, and programs.
In 2017, Melanie received the ANPD Change Agent Award for her strength in project management and improvement processes, and in 2018 she graduated from the ANPD Leadership Academy. Melanie is a contributing author for the NPD Scope & Standards of Practice, 4th Ed. and chapter editor Change Agent for the Core Curriculum for Nursing Professional Development, 6th Ed. She currently serves on the Editorial Board for the JNPD, the official publication of the ANPD.
In her current role as an education program specialist at the American Nurses Association Enterprise, Melanie manages and implements educational content for conferences and symposiums through project management, influence, data analysis, and internal consultation; additionally, in this role, Melanie creates educational content using instructional design, educational technology (edtech), design learning, and innovation.