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Acknowledgements
The following individuals contributed greatly to the first School of Nursing Preceptor Manual:
- Marcia Davis, RNC, WHCNP, ANP, MS, MSEd
- Karen Saunders, CPNP
- Evelyn Crotty, OGNP
- Patricia Selig, CFNP
- Rosie Taylor
Support for the first manual was provided by the Southside Area Health Education Center (AHEC).
This manual was prepared for the Adult Health Department by Rita Jablonski & Ann Pryor
Introduction
The School of Nursing is composed of several individual departments, one of which is the Adult Health Department (AHD). On the graduate level, the AHD is responsible for developing and maintaining programs which prepare nurses for the advanced practitioner role within primary and acute care environments. The clinical experiences are tailored to meet student needs for advanced practice role preparations as nurse practitioners in adult acute care or adult primary care; clinical nurse specialists; or case managers.
Preceptors play an important role in the preparation, education, and socialization of advanced practice nurses. In order to support preceptors, the AHD has developed this guide. It contains general information necessary to build an optimal learning experience for the student.
This guide is not a substitute for the faculty-preceptor relationship. Nor is it designed to address every situation which the preceptor may encounter while working with a graduate student. Preceptors are encouraged to contact course faculty anytime they have questions or concerns about a particular student's clinical experience.
Advanced Practice Nursing
Advanced Practice Nurses are registered nurses who have post-baccalaureate academic and clinical education in a knowledge domain of nursing. They diagnose and treat complex responses to actual and potential health problems. Their clients may be individuals, families, communities, and specific patient populations. Their roles encompass those of expert clinician, collaborator, negotiator, educator, leader, administrator, consultant, advocate, researcher, and change agent. The legal boundaries of advanced practice nursing are established by individual state professional practice legislation and may be more limiting than the scope of practice and standards established by national and state professional associations, practice councils, and certifying boards. The titles nurse practitioner (NP) and clinical nurse specialist (CNS) are widely used to delineate advanced practice nursing role functions (Gillis, 1996).
Nurse Practitioner (NP)
Nurse practitioners are registered nurses with graduate education and who have successfully mastered the specific knowledge domains and clinical practice skills set forth by the profession as necessary for the advanced nurse specialty. Adult NPs may work in either primary care or acute care settings (Gillis, 1996). Like all nurses, they diagnose, manage, and treat human responses to actual and potential illness and disability. They also diagnose, manage, and treat acute and chronic medical problems in collaboration with physicians.
In Virginia, to be licensed as an adult nurse practitioner, the following items are required: licensure as a registered nurse in the state of Virginia; completion of an accredited nurse practitioner program; a master's degree in nursing; and proof of certification from a nationally recognized nursing organization. NPs are licensed jointly by the Virginia Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing. NPs may prescribe medications after submitting a practice agreement to the State Board of Nursing. Prescriptive privileges are site-specific.
Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)
Clinical nurse specialists are registered nurses with graduate education in a specific clinical area of nursing. They are recognized as clinical experts and have responsibility for direct and indirect patient care. Practice options are as vast as are practice settings. Unlike NPs they do not have prescriptive privileges in Virginia (Gillis, 1996).
Case Manager (CM)
Case managers are registered nurses with graduate education in nursing. They are responsible for identifying a particular cohort of patients, usually defined by medical diagnosis or problems (e.g., patients with AIDS or frail elders). CMs coordinate the activities of other members of the health care team in order to obtain maximum satisfactory care with minimum duplication of resources. CMs practice in both in- and outpatient settings. CMs combine clinical expertise with knowledge of health care delivery systems in order to positively affect health outcomes (Brenoit, 1996).
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