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A Competency-Based Curriculum for Critical Care Nurse Practitioners' Transition to Practice
R Scott Kopf1, Penni I Watts2, Eileen S Meyer2
1All authors are affiliated with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Birmingham, Alabama. R. Scott Kopf is a nurse practitioner for pulmonary and critical care, UAB Hospital. Penni I. Watts is an assistant professor and director of clinical simulation, UAB School of Nursing. Eileen S. Meyer is a nurse practitioner and assistant director of advanced practice providers, UAB Hospital. Jacqueline A. Moss is a professor and associate dean for technology and innovation, UAB School of Nursing. rskopf@uab.edu.
A new competency-based curriculum was developed to support new nurse practitioners transitioning into intensive care units. This validated training provides a structured foundation for enhancing practice readiness and patient care.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Education
- Advanced Practice Nursing
- Critical Care
Background:
- Many new nurse practitioners lack formal orientation, leading to varied post-certification training.
- A validated curriculum is crucial for structured practice transition and skill enhancement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a competency-based practice transition curriculum for intensive care unit nurse practitioners.
- To establish essential competencies for novice nurse practitioners in critical care settings.
Main Methods:
- A literature review and expert panels informed curriculum creation.
- Competencies were adapted from existing graduate medical education training.
- Participants ranked curriculum items via a 4-point Likert scale survey for validation.
Main Results:
- 31 participants from academic medical centers and nursing schools validated the competencies.
- All 9 competency topics received a mean rating above 3.5, confirming validity.
- A final set of competencies was developed using combined quantitative and qualitative data.
Conclusions:
- The validated curriculum offers a foundation for novice nurse practitioner practice transition.
- The curriculum is adaptable for both surgical and medical intensive care units.
- This provides a structured approach to training new-graduate nurse practitioners in critical care.