Practitioner Education Roles

Education, Roles and Responsibilities of Nurse Practitioners in Quebec, Canada: A Qualitative Study

Claire Chapados

Department of Nursing, University of Montreal, Canada

Problem

An NP is a nurse holding a specialist certificate who provides advanced nursing care and performs medical activities authorized by a regulation of the CMQ to manage acute and chronic health problems in a particular area of specialization (neonatology, cardiology, nephrology, primary care). NPs must possess expertise in this clinical area acquired principally through a graduate (master’s-level) education program in nursing and medicine established by a regulation of the OIIQ. Most of an NP’s practice is devoted to providing direct care centring on treatment and

They also emphasizes health promotion and disease prevention through counselling, health-behaviour education and the development of self-care abilities. Extensive knowledge and expertise in her area of specialization enable her to take leadership both in her clinical practice and in her relations with nursing colleagues and other professionals. In addition, they contributes to educating future NPs, developing research and implementing clinical innovations. (OIIQ, 2010 Addendum; p. 9) Comments: The problem statements agreed with the title and seemed to be of educational significance. The problem was clearly visible to the average reader, and it required several readings to establish why the researchers felt this study needed to be done. It was limited to the researchers’ capabilities and resources.

Review of Literature

The author cited no clear review of literature; however, several appropriate references were used in the introduction section. These statements contributed to the overall understanding of the subject and to the reasoning for establishing the problem statement. Suggested section titles would have been:

Hypothesis

This research tested hypotheses about how

This paper provides a description of the education program for nurse practitioners in the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Nursing, widely considered a leader in the discipline. It further reports the results of a study examining the roles and responsibilities of NPs and of the factors that, despite the impediments to progress the practice faces, motivate them to pursue development of their abilities in carrying out their duties and making “a difference.” NPs are proud of being a source of reference for their colleagues and believe strongly in inter- and intra-professional collaboration while acknowledging and respecting their limitations, by refusing to assume any responsibilities not delegated to nurse practitioners.

Comments: The conclusions were based on the findings and logically stated. Recommendations

"Additional research is needed in other classroom settings to see if consistent findings about cognitive performances, time requirements, and attitude are achieved."

Comments: The recommendations were limited to a call for additional research in the area.

Overall Critique

This was a very in-depth research project, particularly for a journal article. For the most part, it was well written and well organized. There was a definite need for a short review of literature to develop the situation. The article did get a little complicated in the reporting of data due to the