Nurse Practitioners (NP) should be equipped with the skills and abilities required for independent clinical practice. The NP Role Core Competencies define the competencies needed for a professional NP and are described by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) (2022). The competencies related to my role as a family NP include independent practice, scientific foundation, quality, practice inquiry, leadership, health delivery system, policy, ethics, and technology and information.
Core Competencies and their Mastery
Each core competence determines specific practice-related mastery. As such, independent practice supposes NP to manage diagnosed and undiagnosed patients and provide care that recognizes patients’ cultural diversity (Sharifi et al., 2019).
One can master it by examining and evaluating the health conditions of many people and attending sessions about the necessity of culturally competent treatment. Next, the scientific foundation competence supposes that NP applies scientific knowledge to ethical clinical judgment and diagnostic rationale (NONPF, 2022). To master it, NP should finish many academic activities and programs to learn evidence-based treatment principles. Quality competence suggests enhancing patient quality care by applying knowledge and concepts of translational and improvement scientific approaches, which is mastered by evaluating the quality of treatment.
Furthermore, practice inquiry concerns leading initiatives in healthcare, similar to leadership. Both competencies could be learned by participation in nursing organizations’ conferences. Health delivery system competence involves organizational practices and might be mastered through learning about up-to-date insurance companies, Medicare, and Medicaid. Next, policy competency suggests analyzing and advocating for ethical health policies, which is related to the competence of ethics. Hence, the NPs might learn the principles of ethics and policy development while paying attention to the proposals of new programs. Finally, technology and information competency requires NP to reimagine, evaluate, and employ informatics and healthcare technology in the delivery of care (NONPF, 2022). One can master it by embracing and working with new nursing technology.
Leadership Competency
One of the most critical requirements for family NP is leadership competency. Leadership competency can be defined within personal and professional domains within the NP practice. Namely, it is the engagement in professional and personal development activities that foster a long-term progression toward organizational and interpersonal maturity, increased resilience, and strong leadership potential (NONPF, 2022).
One of the specific demonstrations of leadership competencies might be a magnet offering at an institution that provides leadership for innovative instructional programs. However, it is also possible to demonstrate it by developing healthcare improvements and proposing them at nursing conferences and leading community assessment projects. The competence relates to my leadership attributes, such as well-developed oral and written communication, critical thinking, and the ability to generate quality initiatives.
Scientific Foundations and Policy Competencies
A student can demonstrate multiple competencies in a variety of ways. For example, scientific foundations could be shown by investigating and debating clinical research, ethical concerns, and evidence-based practice approaches.
Students should explain their nursing philosophy after considering other ideologies. They also should be able to apply principles of evidence-based practice to a range of practical activities, such as a literature review, concept map, and assessment of current clinical practice challenges. Furthermore, policy competence can be demonstrated by a student through the investigation of community demographics with the identification of at-risk populations and common health disparities. As a result, a student can develop a specific policy for mitigating health risks and addressing the health disparity gap by considering legal and ethical aspects.
References
National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties. (2022). NONPF’s nurse practitioner role core competencies table. Web.
Sharifi, N., Adib-Hajbaghery, M., & Najafi, M. (2019). Cultural competence in nursing: A concept analysis. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 99, 103386. Web.