Competency-based education in transitioning nurse practitioner students from education into practice.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• Competency-based education (CBE) is a framework for nursing programs, including nurse practitioner (NP) education.
• CBE assumes students demonstrate mastery of essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes before completing their education.
• Existing work on competencies and progression indicators aims to establish a common language for proficiency levels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the development and measurement of competencies and Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) in NP education.
• To address the education-practice gap in NP programs.
• To advocate for standardized processes and guidelines for EPA development.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature and frameworks for CBE and EPAs in nursing education.
• Discussion of various methods for measuring clinical competency, including preceptor feedback, objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs), and simulation.
• Analysis of challenges in transitioning NP students to independent practice.

Main Results:

• Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) build upon competencies, defining measurable activities at varying levels of supervision.
• Current methods for competency assessment include preceptor feedback, OSCEs, and simulation.
• NP programs face challenges in bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical patient care.

Conclusions:

• Standardized development of EPAs is needed to ensure clear expectations and appropriate supervision for NP students.
• Consensus on when, where, and how students gain necessary experience is vital for a successful transition to practice.
• Novel and reliable methods for competency measurement are essential for NP education.