title: Preserving advanced practice nurse role integrity: One hospital's journey.
abstract: Specialists in nursing have existed since the turn of the century. The term denoted a nurse with extensive experience in a particular area of nursing who performed with technical expertise. The modern advanced practice nurse (APN) is a master's degree-prepared clinical expert who has a high level of expertise in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of the complex responses of individuals or populations to health problems. The APN delivers comprehensive, cost-effective care and has a recognized role in the multidisciplinary world of healthcare. Despite these advancements, the role of the hospital-based APN is poorly understood. Other hospital positions such as "nurse educator" or "nurse clinician" add to the role confusion. The APN practice in a large urban hospital will be examined. The journey of preserving the role integrity of the hospital-based APN will be explored.
authors.affiliation: Good Samaritan Hospital, Dayton, Ohio, USA. mhodges@shp-dayton.org
authors.forename: Melissa E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hodges
mesh_terms: D002568:Certification; D032022:Delegation, Professional / Q000458:organization & administration; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000451:nursing*; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate; D004651:Employment / Q000458:organization & administration; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D009720:Nurse Clinicians / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009820:Ohio; D016134:Organizational Policy; D010606:Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D011361:Professional Competence; D011367:Professional Staff Committees