Health care providers' perceptions regarding fundamental issues to consider prior to launching nurse practitioner...

Although the demand for competent health care professionals and better services is high, studies concerning nursing education are not a priority in sub-Saharan African countries, as revealed in limited available records. Strengthening nursing education by establishing proper training models for newly developed advanced practice roles such as "nurse practitioner" (NP) will increase competency in nurses and reduce the shortage of skilled staff within the health care system, thereby enhancing the proper provision of health care services. The main purpose of this research was to investigate fundamental issues that should be considered in the launching of NP training.

A descriptive qualitative design was used in this study. A nonprobability sampling approach and significantly purposeful sampling were also used to recruit 20 health care providers into the study. Individual face-to-face interviews were conducted on scheduled timings, which required an average of 30 minutes for each interview. Finally, a content analysis was used to identify the themes.

The current working environment at the rural primary health care facilities is not convenient for the practices of NPs trained at the master's level. Therefore, before the training of NPs, the government and all stakeholders should strive to improve the environment of the facilities including adequate diagnostic equipment and on-time supply of drugs from the store. Institutions aiming to introduce programs for NPs must develop their curriculum based on currently available local and international guidelines.

Adequate preparation before launching an NP training program will be needed to help build a strong training and hence produce competent professionals.