Nightingale and Peplau Serve Again: The Cross and Camo in PMHNP Education Improvement

Abstract

Background: Nursing theory should guide curriculum development at the advanced practice registered nursing level. Teaching military advanced practice nursing learners to respond in the complex, multi-domain advance combat support for our wartime mission is no exception. Defining capabilities for critical wartime specialties such as psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNP) are of critical importance. Educating PMHNPs in fragmented and outdated curricular and education principles will not allow us to come up with the prepared warfighter we need for the mission. Methods: Florence Nightingale and Hildegard Peplau both served in the US military. The Uniformed Services University Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program has adopted their Environmental and Interpersonal Relationship Theories to explore foundational didactic content, classroom, simulation and field environment learning outcomes for individual, group, and unit level interactions in a PMHNP program. Findings: PMHNP program outcomes for individual, group, command and unit level interactions align with the theories and practical application of these different areas will be discussed. Interpretation: Advanced nursing practice education should pay tribute to the guiding lights in nursing while applying evidence based practice to improve the future of PMHNP practice. Funding Statement: None. Declaration of Interests: None.