title: A value-added benefit of nurse practitioners in long-term care settings: increased nursing staff's ability to care for residents.
abstract: The number of people living longer is increasing, and those with physical or cognitive impairments may need admission into long-term care settings. In long-term care there is a need to increase nursing staff's capacity to meet the care needs of residents, develop a team approach to providing care and provide opportunities for staff to improve their knowledge and skills. One approach to meet these needs has been to employ a nurse practitioner (NP). The purpose of this paper is to examine nursing staff's perceptions of how working with an NP affected their ability to provide care, function as a team and increase their knowledge and skill. Data used in this paper were obtained from nursing staff and managers who participated in focus groups that were part of case studies conducted in the second phase of a larger sequential, two-phase mixed-methods study. NPs used multiple approaches to increase staff knowledge and skills and improve quality of care. These findings describe the benefits of employing NPs in long-term care settings.
authors.affiliation: Esther Sangster-Gormley, RN, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Victoria School of Nursing, Victoria, BC.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sangster-Gormley
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.forename: Faith
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Donald
authors.forename: Ruth Martin
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Misener
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ploeg
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaasalainen
authors.forename: Carrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McAiney
authors.forename: Lori Schindel
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.forename: Noori
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Akhtar-Danesh
authors.forename: Abigail
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wickson-Griffiths
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002170:Canada; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000451:nursing*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D017144:Focus Groups; D005544:Forecasting; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000639:trends*; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000639:trends; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000639:trends*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009746:Nursing, Team / Q000639:trends; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012112:Residential Facilities / Q000639:trends*