Advanced practice provider privileging tool within a transition to practice program: A quality improvement project

Abstract

<p dir="ltr"><strong>Objective and scope:</strong> Evaluate the use of a privileging tool in a formal program designed to support advanced practice providers in transitioning from academia to clinical practice.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Setting:&nbsp;</strong> This project took place in a northern Minnesota based hospital system. The program was established to help advanced practice providers such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants bridge education and practice at entry level and also when orienting to a new specialty area. The program was seeking a tool that would help the process of granting provider privileges so that they may practice to the full extent of their training and education. The tool was created in coordination with the lead director of the program.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Synthesis and analysis of literature:</strong>&nbsp; A quality improvement project design. This project aligned with the Healthy People 2020 topic area &ldquo;Access to Health Services&rdquo; and its goal to improve access to comprehensive, quality health services&rdquo; (Healthy People 2020, 2019, para. 1). This project specifically aligns with the objective under this topic area, AHS-4 &ldquo;(<em>Developmental</em>) <em>Increase the number of practicing primary care providers.</em>&rdquo; (Healthy People 2020, 2019, AHS-4). The theoretical framework utilized within this project was developed by Patricia Benner&nbsp; as it recognized the developmental stages of nursing practice, from novice nurse to expert nurse. It also implied that competency of a provider should be assessed on a continuum, and not by a one time,&nbsp;list- based, competency framework.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Participants:</strong> Program director, three leads of the program, and privileging board members.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Evaluation criteria:</strong> The privileging tool and its perceived usefulness in the program was evaluated. An educational presentation on the privileging tool was conducted. Five key participants completed a Likert scale survey to determine the usefulness of the portfolio tool. The Likert scale also included subjective feedback that was taken into consideration.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Outcomes:</strong> The four point Likert scale had four questions rated from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Five questionnaires were sent out and five were received back, with all questions being answered. The majority of participants answered either &ldquo;strongly agreed&rdquo; or &ldquo;agreed&rdquo; to each question. The perceived usefulness of the tool was calculated using the Pearson correlation coefficient which revealed a positive correlation of (r &gt; 0.5).&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-15c8c465-7fff-02ea-1dfa-f8243a8d4115"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Recommendations:</strong> A newly designed APP skill competency assessment tool supported the goal of a health care organization, and the APP, to track and use for privileging during a Transition to Practice program for new APP graduates. &nbsp;It would have been ideal to implement the tool, however, it is recommended going forward that the tool be piloted in a subspecialty such as urgent care.&nbsp;</p>