Strategies for Transitioning to Nurse Practitioner Role

Transitioning to nurse practitioner (NP) is usually accompanied by significant
changes in the role of the nurse. These changes include increase in autonomy levels and
addition of new responsibilities, such as being a prescriber of medications (Pleshkan, 2018). I
plan to use three strategies to transition to role of nurse practitioner. The three strategies are
going through post-graduation residency programs, use of simulation laboratories, and
participation in academia-practice partnerships.

Participation in post-graduation residency programs has been found to be effective in
helping nurses to get used to managing typical patient load, increase their efficiency, and
provide the nurses with adequate time to transition into nurse practitioner practice (Nicely &
Fairman, 2015). Therefore, such participation will provide me with the skills and sense of
confidence that I need to be effective in my role as an NP and help me in providing effective
and safe care to patients.

Another strategy that I plan to use in order to have a smooth transition to the role of
NP is to participate in academic-practice partnerships. Such partnerships allow nursing
students in educational settings to apply what they learn in class in clinical settings (Pearson
et al., 2015). Apart from increasing the effectiveness of the nurse, such partnerships also
promote innovation in patient care (Pearson et al., 2015). Thus, participating in an academic-
practice partnership will help me to become a more confident and competent nurse
practitioner by allowing me to get used to clinical settings that NPs practice in.

Lastly, I plan to use simulation laboratories. Simulation represents an active learning
strategy that helps one to gain knowledge, skills, and confidence about various ways of
managing different clinical situations (Sundler, Pettersson, & Berglund, 2015). Through

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participation in simulation laboratories, I will be able to better prepare for the real world of
nurse practitioner without having to risk the safety of a patient.

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References

Nicely, K. L. W., & Fairman, J. (2015). Postgraduate nurse practitioner residency programs:
Supporting transition to practice. Academic Medicine, 90(6), 707-709.

Pearson, M. L., Wyte-Lake, T., Bowman, C., Needleman, J., & Dobalian, A. (2015).
Assessing the impact of academic-practice partnerships on nursing staff. BMC
nursing, 14(1), 28.

Pleshkan, V. Y. (2018). Nurse Practitioners’ Experiences with Role Transition: Supporting
the Learning Curve Through Preceptorship.

Sundler, A. J., Pettersson, A., & Berglund, M. (2015). Undergraduate nursing students’
experiences when examining nursing skills in clinical simulation laboratories with
high-fidelity patient simulators: a phenomenological research study. Nurse Education
Today, 35(12), 1257-1261.