Should procedural skills be a part of the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner curriculum?

Abstract

Invasive procedures are an integral component of the time sensitive management of the acute and critically ill patients. Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) students aspiring to be employed in their roles in the acute care settings cannot be autonomous in their practices unless they have a minimum level of proficiency to perform life sustaining invasive procedures. Offering additional level of benefits of safety and quality in healthcare, simulation as a teaching method has grown in popularity among various levels of education among variety of disciplines. Therefore, offering this opportunity to ACNP students in a controlled environment of simulation laboratory can be a win-win for the practitioner, the consumer as well as the health care industry at large. The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance of the role of simulation as a teaching method for invasive procedures such as Central Venous Catheterization (CVC), Arterial Catheters (AC), Thoracentesis, Paracentesis, Lumbar Puncture (LP), and Endotracheal intubation for ACNPs. One such simulation program was launched for teaching ACNP students the CVCs and ACs under ultrasound guidance. The launch of the program was overwhelmingly effective and the results of the survey of participating students showed significant improvement in their knowledge, skills and attitudes.