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“It's about fitting in with the organisation”: A qualitative study of employers of nurse practitioners
Author(s) -
Leidel Stacy,
Hauck Yvonne,
McGough Shirley
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/jocn.14282
Subject(s) - employability , workforce , nursing , reimbursement , qualitative research , exploratory research , health care , private sector , public relations , value (mathematics) , service (business) , business , medicine , marketing , psychology , sociology , political science , pedagogy , social science , machine learning , anthropology , computer science , law
Aims and objectives To explore the views of employers about the value nurse practitioners ( NP s) add to health services, enablers and barriers to employing NP s, and intentions to employ NP s or expand NP services in the future. Background Research on Australian NP s has focused on NP s’ experiences or patient‐related factors like waiting times. Few studies have explored NP roles from the perspective of employers. Australian NP s employed by the private sector are eligible for reimbursement by the national health insurance scheme (Medicare Australia), potentially generating revenue for employers and broadening their career opportunities. We aimed to explore private sector employers’ views on the barriers and facilitators to employing NP s and to identify factors affecting NP employability. Design A qualitative descriptive exploratory study. Method Employers of NP s from 23 private and nonprofit health services in Western Australia were interviewed. Inductive content analysis was used to explore the data. Results Enablers to employing an NP included enhanced customer service and improved health outcomes. Barriers to employing an NP included lack of financial benefit and inadequate experience or qualifications. Employers also identified future directions for NP employability, such as filling a gap that added value to the health service. Conclusions Employers wanted NP s to work towards a shared vision of patient care that aligned with organisational needs. Relevance to clinical practice Findings can inform NP education and workforce planning to optimally meet employer and patient health needs.