Outcomes research in advanced practice nursing selecting an outcome

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Patient Outcomes Research

Background:

• Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) play a crucial role in enhancing patient care.
• There is a need for APNs to integrate outcomes relevant to governmental and accreditation bodies into their practice.
• Nursing science benefits from APNs investigating and reporting on measurable patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the importance of APNs investigating and incorporating specific patient care outcomes into their daily practice.
• To emphasize how APNs can contribute to quality improvement and nursing science through outcome measurement.
• To underscore the role of APNs in meeting external quality benchmarks and enhancing healthcare system performance.

Main Methods:

• APNs can leverage their diverse roles (Clinical Nurse Specialist, role model, educator, Acute Care Nurse Practitioner) to address key outcomes.
• Incorporating outcome measurement into existing quality improvement and management activities.
• Benchmarking performance using established quality measures.

Main Results:

• Active participation by APNs in measuring, reporting, and improving outcomes ensures a consistent standard of quality care.
• APNs contribute to the recognition of nursing's vital role in healthcare system improvement.
• Integration of these outcomes enhances patient care and institutional success.

Conclusions:

• APNs should actively engage in outcome investigation and implementation to improve patient care and advance nursing science.
• Collaboration on outcome measurement strengthens the recognition of nursing's contribution to healthcare quality.
• APNs are integral to achieving consistent, high-quality patient outcomes across the healthcare system.