The emergency nurse practitioner: An educational model

Abstract

T he e m e r g e n c y nurse pract i t ioner (ENP) has a vital role in del ivering heal th care in an emergency depar tmen t . 1 Unti l recently, a nu r se who w a n t e d to b e c o m e a nu r se pract i t ioner (NP) and specialize in e m e r g e n c y care had to a t tend an adult NP, family NP, or pediatr ic NP program. Because these NP programs are pr imary care based, g radua tes are well versed in pr inciples of heal th promotion, d isease prevent ion, and e p i s o d i c care of n o n u r g e n t condi ~ tions. For the NP in te res ted in prac t ic ing in the emergency depar tment , however, exper ience in the a s s e s s m e n t and m a n a g e m e n t of u rgen t and emergen t condi t ions is essential . Recogniz ing that ENPs n e e d knowledge, skills, and exper ience u n i q u e to the e m e r g e n c y depar t ~ ment, the authors developed and imp lemen ted at The Univers i ty of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Nursing, the only ENP program currently in the Uni ted States tha t focuses exclusively on the provision of emergency care. The program is descr ibed in this article to serve as a framework for other educators in te res ted in developing an ENP program.