Nurse Practitioner Student Competency Attainment and Direct Care Clinical Hours: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND

The number of direct care clinical hours (DCCH) required in nurse practitioner education lacks empirical evidence.

PURPOSE: This pilot study established preliminary empirical research examining the DCCH needed to attain the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials Level 2, Domain 2: Person-Centered Care national competencies.

METHODS

This quantitative study used the Nurse Practitioner Student Competency Assessment instrument to measure Domain 2 subcompetency attainment. Student and university factors were also analyzed.

RESULTS

Intraclass correlation coefficients suggest university variability may contribute up to 30%. Pilot findings suggested that DCCH, completing the 3Ps (advanced pathophysiology, advanced pharmacology, and advanced health assessment) before clinical placements, and number of clinical sites were positively associated, while higher student-to-faculty ratios were negatively associated with competency attainment.

CONCLUSION

Addressing measurement implementation and university variability are critical areas of development for the proposed national study. A rater-calibrated study is needed to estimate the relative contribution of DCCH to competency attainment.