National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) Competencies
Competency development among advanced practice nurses is crucial for the promotion of positive outcomes. The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) has developed nine competency areas that nurse practitioners must meet in their education program. Therefore, this paper explores the ways in which the program has helped me achieve the competencies, how I would promote social change and advocacy or legislation activities by nurse organizations in California.
Scientific Inquiry
The program has helped me meet the scientific inquiry competencies. It has exposed me to critical analysis of evidence and data to inform the decisions that I make in my practice. The program has also increased my understanding of the ways in which I can evaluate patient outcomes based on the set evidence-based criteria. I have also developed competencies in translating evidence and knowledge into clinical practice to improve outcomes. The program has also strengthened my critical thinking skills as see from my ability to undertake evidence appraisal, formulate practice problems, and use scientific concepts and theories to inform change initiatives.
Leadership
The program has also helped me develop my leadership competencies. The program increased my knowledge and skills in leadership. I can apply them I leading complex organizations. The program has also increased my participation in team activities. This has expanded my ability to work with individuals from different backgrounds in addressing health disparities and improve outcomes. I can also play crucial advocacy roles in my practice to ensure the adoption of interventions that improve cost-effectiveness, access, and quality of healthcare. I have also developed effective communication skills from the program. This is through projects and presentations that I engage in the program.
Quality
The program has also helped me to meet quality competencies in my advanced nursing practice. The program has strengthened my understanding and skills on the use of best evidence to improve outcomes in clinical practice. I have also developed deeper understanding of the relationship between concepts such as cost and quality and ways in which they influence outcomes. The program has also improved my research knowledge and skills. This includes the use of peer review evidence in nursing practice. I can also utilize reflective practice to improve on my practice and care outcomes. I can also participate effectively in collaborative team processes in the provision of patient care.
Practice Inquiry
The program has also helped me to achieve practice inquiry competencies. The program has improved my competencies in leading the translation of knowledge and evidence into practice. I have also developed adept knowledge and skills in identifying clinical problems, appraising evidence, undertaking literature reviews, and using electronic databases to acquire sources of evidence. I have also developed knowledge and skills in applying scientific investigative skills to enhance outcomes. I can confidently lead practice inquiry initiatives in nursing and healthcare. I have also learned about the effective strategies that nurse practitioners can use to disseminate evidence in their practice.
Technology and Information Literacy
I have achieved technology and information literacy competencies from the program. The program exposed me to the use of different healthcare technologies to address disparities in healthcare. It also increased my competencies in the translation of scientific health information into nursing practice and healthcare. I have also developed adequate knowledge and skills on searching and using electronic data in my practice. I can also confidently lead the integration of technologies into practice for knowledge generation and improve healthcare delivery. I can also use different healthcare technologies to support nursing and patient education. The program also expanded my understanding of the implications of different policies on data protection and use on my practice. My nursing informatics knowledge also improved based on my experiences with the program. As a result, I can participate and contribute to the design of different clinical information systems for use in enhancing safety, quality, and efficiency in clinical practice.
Policy
The program has also helped me achieve policy competencies needed for advanced registered nurses. My advocacy knowledge and skills as an advanced registered nurse have improved. I can participate in processes that aim at the adoption of interventions that prioritize the needs of the diverse populations in my community. I can also analyze the need, feasibility, and significance of policies in nursing and healthcare. I also now understand the different factors that shape healthcare policies.
Health Delivery System
The program has also advanced my health delivery system competencies. The program exposed me to knowledge and skills needed in transforming the existing healthcare systems and processes to improve healthcare delivery system. I also learned about the different strategies that can be used to implement changes that transform the existing systems and processes. I also learned about the use of different quality improvement approaches to minimize risk to patients and healthcare providers. I have also strengthened my knowledge and skills on evaluation to determine the impact of different interventions on outcomes.
Ethics
The program has also helped me achieve ethics competencies as an advanced registered nurse. I can now use different models of decision-making to make ethical decisions in my practice. I also understand the different actions that I should adopt in my practice to deliver ethical care (Chan et al., 2020). The program also increased my understanding of the ways in which I can analyze the ethical consequences of my actions in practice.
Independent Practice
Lastly, the program helped me achieve independent practice competencies. It gave me an opportunity to engage in practical and theoretical knowledge and skills needed in assessing, diagnosing, planning, and treating different conditions. The program also increased my understanding and application of different sciences into my independent practice. I have also developed adequate competencies in the delivery of culturally appropriate care to patients from different backgrounds (Chan et al., 2020). I have also developed adequate knowledge and skills in collaborating with different healthcare providers to ensure optimum care outcomes.
Social Change
I plan to bring social change in my community by acting as their advocate. I intend to advocate the adoption of policies that align with the prioritized needs of the community members (Padrón & Pederson, 2022). I also intend to ensure the empowerment of the community members through their active participation on issues that affect them. I will also advocate the adoption of interventions that protect their rights (Valderama-Wallace & Apesoa-Varano, 2020). This includes ensuring that the adopted policy initiatives do not predispose them to any form of harm and aim at doing good for them.
Legislative/Advocacy Activities
Nursing professional organizations in California are engaging in several legislative and advocacy activities. One of the advocacy activities is the Lobby Day by the California Association for Nurse Practitioners. The Lobby Day is an event that brings together nurse practitioners, key policymakers and legislators. They explore the different issues affecting nursing practice and the potential policy initiatives that can be adopted to address them (canpweb.org, n.d.).
Conclusion
Overall, the program has helped me to achieve the NONPF practice competencies. I believe that I can deliver safe, efficient, and quality care to my patients with the knowledge gained from the program. I will promote social change in my community by being their advocate. The nursing professional organizations in California engage in legislation and advocacy activities.
References
canpweb.org. (n.d.). Lobby Day—California Association for Nurse Practitioners. Retrieved August 3, 2023, from https://canpweb.org/events/lobby-day/
Chan, T. E., Lockhart, J. S., Thomas, A., Kronk, R., & Schreiber, J. B. (2020). An integrative review of nurse practitioner practice and its relationship to the core competencies. Journal of Professional Nursing, 36(4), 189–199.
Padrón, K. M., & Pederson, C. (2022). Using a Social Justice Lens in Nursing: Intersectionalizing Person-Centered Care with Transgender and Non-Binary Patients. Creative Nursing, 28(4), 261–265. https://doi.org/10.1891/CN-2022-0039
Valderama-Wallace, C. P., & Apesoa-Varano, E. C. (2020). ‘The Problem of the Color Line’: Faculty approaches to teaching Social Justice in Baccalaureate Nursing Programs. Nursing Inquiry, 27(3), e12349. https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12349
