Building the Next Generation of Advanced Practice Nurses Through Clinical Education and Faculty Practice: Three International Perspectives

Abstract

Aims and Objectives: This article aims to provide an overview of the history of advanced practice nursing, including regulation, education, and faculty practice of nurse practitioners/advanced practice nurses from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Background: Clinical nursing education has evolved from the apprenticeship model to the multiple learning methods that are employed today. The faculty practice model has the most promise and maybe the new frontier to achieve excellence in clinical education. Design: Discursive paper. Methods: Advanced practice nursing clinical education will be discussed, current trends presented, and future educational directions considered. The essential characteristics of an effective clinical educator and the ideal context for clinical education will be highlighted with the goal of educating for clinical excellence. Contemporary practices of a nurse practitioner regulation and education will be examined. Conclusions: Faculty practice in advanced practice nursing requires critical elements, which include role modeling, financial sustainability, teaching credibility, translation of research to practice, and clinical expertise. Challenges to a functional context include conflicting regulatory issues, limited scope of practice, external agency restrictions, and lack of institutional support. Relevance to clinical practice: It is essential to understand the ideal characteristics and context for effective advanced practice clinical education and identify specific challenges within each country’s functional contexts that prevent effective advanced practice clinical education. Strategies to address these current challenges and to enhance clinical excellence to maximize the effectiveness of advanced practice nursing education.