Which actions are considered requirements or core competencies for the APRN
The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) created a list of nine core competencies to use as guidelines for nurse practitioner (NP) programs. These guidelines help ensure that NPs acquire the necessary skills in the field. Show The core competencies apply to all NP specializations and population foci. Each competency includes a list of suggested curriculum content that can help programs properly educate their nursing students. While the NONPF does not require institutions to use their suggested curriculum, it does provide a roadmap that can guide students to practice nursing successfully. This guide provides an overview of the following nine core competencies, including how they contribute to nursing curricula and professional NP practice:
Nurse Practitioner Core CompetenciesThe NONPF's core competencies ensure that nursing programs provide aspiring NPs with the necessary training for the field. Each of the competencies applies to all NPs, regardless of their specialization and population foci. These core competencies are the foundation of most programs taught at both the master's and doctoral levels. They may also appear as questions on board certification exams.
Leadership competencies focus on professional accountability, scholarship, and advocacy. These skills help ensure that nurse practitioner students understand their scope and standards of practice and are prepared to lead healthcare teams. The leadership competencies also cover cultural sensitivity, engagement in professional organizations, and communication skills. The quality core competency includes the following objectives and expectations: The quality competency emphasizes the assessment of research and how it can help improve health outcomes. NPs need to access, assess, and apply the most up-to-date data while considering how cost, safety, and access to healthcare impact the quality of care. Nurses must evaluate current policies and organizational structures to determine if and how they can increase the quality of care by making systematic changes. The quality core competency includes the following objectives and expectations: Practice inquiry provides nurses with the ability to apply research to clinical settings. This competency ensures that NPs understand research materials and translate that information into practice. Nurses must use critical thinking skills to determine how current research can increase the effectiveness of standards or modify guidelines to positively benefit health outcomes. The practice inquiry core competency includes the following objectives and expectations: Technology and Information LiteracyWith the constant development of new technologies, NPs must be able to incorporate these advances to improve patient outcomes. Using new technology to access, manage, create, and evaluate health-related information allows them to practice more efficiently. NPs who integrate nursing and communication technology (informatics) can potentially increase the effectiveness of their care. The technology and information literacy core competency includes the following objectives and expectations: Healthcare policy refers to the guidelines used to oversee and fund decisions related to patient care. These policies ultimately determine the allocation of resources at the local, state, or federal levels. Knowledge of various policies helps prepare nurses to influence legislation that can better the healthcare system and their patients. These policies are not solely geared directly toward healthcare, as social issues such as education, poverty, and violence also have an impact on the medical community. The policy core competency includes the following objectives and expectations:
This focuses on teaching nurses how to plan, develop, and implement programs within various target communities. Nurses learn how to develop appropriate methods of healthcare delivery that can address the needs of patients, providers, and other stakeholders. After determining the needs of various populations, nurses collaborate with communities in addressing the improvements needed to deliver effective and efficient care. The health delivery system's core competency includes the following objectives and expectations: The ethics competency provides NPs with the ability to understand the code of ethics within the healthcare community. NPs must consider the ethical implications of their decisions and assess how it affects their delivery of care. This knowledge helps ensure NPs can navigate the dilemmas within the medical community, allowing them to make the best decisions for their patients. The ethics core competency includes the following objectives and expectations: The independent practice competency ensures NPs have the necessary academic and professional training to work as licensed independent practitioners. The competency ensures that nurses can provide all of the services permitted by law. These services include assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients with minimal direction, oversight, or supervision. Independent or supervised practice is mandated by the state in which the NP works. States allow for either full practice, reduced access, or restricted access. Full practice states allow NPs to diagnose, treat, and prescribe medication without physician oversight. Reduced access requires physician oversight to prescribe medication. Restricted access requires physician oversight to diagnose, treat, and prescribe medication. |