Cultivating APNs for the future: a hospital-based advanced practice nursing internship program

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Advanced Practice Nursing
• Healthcare Workforce Development

Background:

• Tertiary care teaching hospitals face challenges in developing advanced practice roles.
• A need exists to support nurses transitioning into clinical nurse specialist/clinical nurse specialist-nurse practitioner (CNS/CNS-NP) roles.
• Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) sought to enhance its internal capacity for advanced practice nurses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the components of an internship program designed for aspiring clinical nurse specialist/clinical nurse specialist-nurse practitioners (CNS/CNS-NPs).
• To outline the responsibilities of participants and the necessary infrastructure for program support.
• To evaluate the internship program as a mechanism for developing advanced practice roles within a hospital setting.

Main Methods:

• The paper details the structure and implementation of a specific CNS/CNS-NP internship program.
• It outlines the key responsibilities assigned to internship participants.
• The required infrastructural support for the program is described.

Main Results:

• The internship program facilitates the transition of nurses into CNS/CNS-NP roles.
• It provides recognition and rewards for existing hospital nurses.
• The program assists nurses in meeting educational requirements for advanced practice.

Conclusions:

• The described internship program is an effective strategy for developing advanced practice nursing roles.
• Such programs are valuable for retaining and advancing nursing talent within healthcare organizations.
• Hamilton Health Sciences' initiative demonstrates a successful model for supporting CNS/CNS-NP development.