50 Years of NP
Education - It Is Time for A Journal
ESTABLISHING EDITORS
|
S |
ince
the first program for nurse practitioners opened in 1965 at the University of
Colorado, NP education programs have been established nationally and
internationally. The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners estimates that
there are now over 140,000 NPs in practice today with 9,000 being educated each
year (AANP, 2010). The Canadian Nursing Association reports there are now more than 3,000 NPs across their country (CAN, 2011). The
numbers and need for well educated nurse practitioners grow around the world. Though
the year 2015 will mark 50 years of nurse practitioner education there is not
yet a journal specifically dedicated to curriculum development, teaching
strategies assessment and evaluation of competencies, or use of traditional and
emerging teaching modalities and the use of technology in nurse practitioner education.
The focus and scope of The International Journal of Nurse
Practitioner Educators is to assist faculty from around the world as they
transform nurse practitioner education. This peer-reviewed quarterly journal
promotes excellence in national and international advanced practice education.
The journal will publish broadly on topics related to nurse practitioner
education. Articles of interest include but are not limited to curricular
issues; simulation, technology, and innovation from the classroom to practice;
clinical placements, and promoting clinical practice in academic settings.
Journal articles and features present strategies that support extraordinary nurse
practitioner education worthy of the public trust.
In addition, current concerns of all nurse practitioner educators
include implementation of the APRN Consensus Model (2008) and the impact that
will have on preparing NP students for certification and practice. Healthcare reform
with the need for nurse practitioners as primary providers has significantly
increased interest in a career as a nurse practitioner and requires expansion
of programs and establishment of nurse programs despite shrinking funding for
higher education and shortages of both faculty and quality clinical education
sites.
Coupled
with these factors is the essential need for increased collaboration with other
members of the healthcare team such as physicians, pharmacists, social workers,
physical therapists as well as insurance companies, and government regulators.
Additionally, the public is demanding that nurse practitioner programs
demonstrate rigor and educationally sound methodology to ensure their confidence.
Nurse practitioners have had an
international presence in countries such as Canada for twenty years; yet, they
still seek the advice and experience of nurse practitioners from other
countries such as the United States to help them advance competencies.
Likewise, nurse practitioners from the United States have much to learn
regarding differences in problem based learning and simulation experiences
where our Canadian educators have years of experience. Nurse practitioner
communities in Australia, New Zealand, and many countries in Africa are
experiencing an enormous growth in NP education and desire collaboration with
their international colleagues. A unique NP education journal offered online
has the ability to reach educators everywhere.
Clinical
nurse practitioner journals have readership, respect, and a positive impact on practice.
In addition, general nursing and nursing education journals publish educational
research and reports on educational innovations, policy, accreditation and
issues; but, their focus is on undergraduate education. While many other health
care disciplines have journals focused on the education of members of their
professions, until this point there has not been a journal specifically for nurse
practitioner educators. We aspire to correct that with The International Journal of Nurse Practitioner Educators.
The goal
of the International Journal of Nurse Practitioner
Educators is to meet the needs of NP educators. This journal will have the ability
to devote several articles, an entire issue, or even a special edition to
content on core and cutting edge content related to NP education. This focus
could be on maintaining accreditation, preparing documents, resources, best
practices in the use of technology, quality distant education, and evaluation
of the multiple competencies needed by our graduates. By publishing in a fully
on-line, open access peer reviewed journal which will have no subscription or
publication fees, we hope positively to influence NP education into the future.
The
International Journal of Nurse Practitioner Educators has
been in development for the past 12 months. A national survey of NP faculty
members showed that the overwhelming majority of nurse practitioner educators
are interested in the establishment of a unified journal for NP educational
content. A group of nationally and internationally recognized and active
faculty members were invited to form the core editorial board and develop an
initial priority list of manuscripts and themed issues that would benefit nurse
practitioner education. These include topics such as:
1) Community Preceptors: how do engage them
in teaching, how are they rewarded, how do we educate them as to how to educate
and mentor our students, how do we assess whether their practice is congruent
with "best practice"?
2) Optimal use of Observed Structured
Clinical Exams (OSCEs) and other forms of standardized patients and simulation
both to teach and evaluate core and specialty NP knowledge and competencies.
3)
Meeting NP competencies as described by professional organizations such as National
Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF), American Association of
Colleges of Nursing (AACN) the Canadian Nurses Association (CAN) and many other
national and international NP and specialty advanced practice groups.
4) How might we share course resources such
as syllabi, assignments, class activities?
5) How to best present content. What are the
best practices for use of lecture, problem based learning, case study,
simulation, on-line and face-to-face discussion? How can we move students forward to expert NP
practice?
Authors and readers are the heart and soul of
any journal. We invite you to read,
learn, and contribute to the knowledge, open dialogue, problem solving, and
shared wisdom we hope this journal will produce.
Establishing Editors in Alphabetical Order:
Carolyn
Auerhahn, Ellen Jones, Gary
Laustsen, Laurie Kennedy-Malone, Carol Savrin, Eric Staples, and Diane Wink.
The Journal adheres to the Uniform
Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals of the
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors”. The journal has been
assigned an ISSN number and is awaiting DOI numeration. The website address is
http://libjournal.uncg.edu/ojs/index.php/ijnpe/index. Free subscription as a
reader is required.
About the Authors Carolyn Auerhahn, EdD, ANP, GNP-BC, FAANP,
Consultant, Adult-Gerontology APRN Education, formerly held faculty positions at
New York University College of Nursing, Yale School of Nursing, and Columbia
University School of Nursing. Contact Dr. Auerhahn at cacapemay@gmail.com; Ellen Jones, DNP, FNP-C, FAANP, is an
Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Contact Dr.
Jones at ellen_jones@uncg.edu; Laurie Kennedy-Malone, PhD, GNP-BC, FAANP,
FAGHE, is a Professor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Contact
Dr. Kennedy-Malone at Laurie_kennedy-malone@uncg.edu; Gary Laustsen, PhD,
APRN-CNP(Fam), is an Associate Professor at Oregon Health & Science
University, School of Nursing. Contact Dr. Laustsen at laustsen@ohsu.edu; Carol
Savrin, DNP, CPNP, FNP, BC, FAANP, is an Associate Professor at Case Western
Reserve University, FPB School of Nursing. Contact Dr. Savrin at
cls18@case.edu; Eric Staples, DNP, is an Assistant Professor, School of Nursing,
McMaster University and Department of Family Medicine. He is the Site
Coordinator for the Ontario Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program. Contact
Dr. Staples at staples@mcmaster.ca; and Diane Wink, EdD, FNP-BC, ARNP, FAANP,
is a Professor in the College of Nursing, University of Central Florida.
Contact Dr. Wink at Diane.Wink@ucf.edu.
References
American
Academy of Nurse Practitioners. (2102). FAQs
about Nurse Practitioners. Retrieved March 24,
2012 from http://www.aanp.org/NR/rdonlyres/A1D9B4BD-AC5E-45BF-9EB0-
DEFCA1123204/4710/2011FAQswhatisanNPupdated.pdf
Canadian Nurses Association. (October, 17, 2011). Canadian Nurses Association says “It’s about
time”.
Retrieved March 24, 2012 from http://npcanada.ca/portal/
Consensus Model for APRN Regulation.
(2008). Licensure, Accreditation, Certification &
Education.
Retrieved March 25, 2012 from
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/education-resources/APRNReport.pdf