Entrustable professional activities in nursing education: a scoping review

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Competency-Based Education
• Health Professions Education

Background:

• Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) are established in medical and other health professions for bridging education and practice.
• Nursing education's adoption of EPAs began later, with an unclear landscape of developed and implemented activities.
• This scoping review addresses the need to identify EPAs in nursing education and their impact.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify which Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) have been developed in nursing education.
• To determine the extent of implementation of these developed EPAs.
• To synthesize the empirical evidence on the effects of EPA implementation in nursing.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review methodology was employed, adhering to PRISMA-ScR guidelines.
• Searches were conducted across MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and ERIC databases from January 1, 1995, to December 31, 2023.
• Thirteen articles describing the development, implementation, or assessment of EPAs in nursing education were included after a two-stage screening process.

Main Results:

• EPAs have been developed across 16 nursing education areas, including specialized fields like palliative and emergency/intensive care.
• Commonly described activities include health status assessment, care measures, leadership, diagnostics, and care planning.
• Implementation was reported in 4 of the 13 included studies, with evidence suggesting improvements in critical thinking, teaching flexibility, and a shift in mindset.

Conclusions:

• Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) are seeing increased development and implementation within nursing education.
• There is a notable overlap in EPAs, primarily encompassing the core steps of the nursing care process.
• Further research may explore the specific impact and standardization of EPAs across diverse nursing contexts.