title: Breast nurse practitioner training and assessment: a proposed model.
abstract: The role of the breast nurse practitioner has been expanding in recent years and many breast units in the UK employ nurse practitioners to carry out a variety of clinical duties. Most of these involve diagnostic assessment of breast diseases and clinical breast examination. While most nurse practitioners have been trained by shadowing breast surgeons, working under supervision, and demonstrating a satisfactory concordance, in terms of clinical opinion with their clinical supervisors, there is a lack of literature describing a training programme that includes assessment. A proposed model including induction, training, assessment (using established tools from a medical school and Royal Surgical Colleges) and audit, with a competency-based 'sign-off', is described in this article and supported by the experience of a nurse practitioner who has been successfully trained in this way. The model can instil confidence and credibility to employers and the public, and can also be adapted and extended to other areas of clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Leicester NHS Trust.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hassell
authors.forename: Kwok Leung
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Cheung
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000193:education*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D006113:United Kingdom