Unique Role of Advanced Practice Providers in Didactic Education of HSCT Murses
Abstract
Introduction: Traditional nursing orientation focuses on time management, patient safety, and training in patient care tasks with minimal formal didactic components. It was hypothesized that nurses caring for the complex hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) population would benefit from early introduction to the disease states, pathophysiology, and rationale for care being provided, and experienced nurses would benefit from educational support toward obtaining BMTCN certification. Advanced practice providers (APPs) play an integral role on the HSCT team, providing direct patient care in both inpatient and outpatient settings. In many programs, APPs are the primary educators for patients and their caregivers. This training and experience make APPs ideal to serve as expert educators for nursing and other programmatic support staff.
Methods: All newly hired registered nurses to the BMT inpatient unit and clinic attended a mandatory two-day training course during their initial onboarding where didactic content was provided by APPs. “Fundamentals of BMT” courses were offered quarterly. Nurses were awarded sixteen hours of continuing education credits towards state licensure and BMTCN® certification. Upon meeting eligibility criteria for BMTCN certification, experienced BMT RNs were invited to attend an optional advanced training course. Advanced courses were offered twice annually and consisted of sixteen hours of lectures, small group discussions, and case studies. Content was designed to reinforce the BMTCN® Test Blueprint.
Results: Between 2017-2021, 100% of newly hired RNs attended the Fundamentals of BMT course. Post-session evaluations support that the course was well received, knowledge was increased, and APPs were highly rated as course instructors. Between 2017-2020, 26 RNs attended the Advanced BMT course. Eleven nurses went on to take the BMTCN® certification exam achieving a 91% pass rate.
Conclusions: Given the breadth and depth of their training, APPs can serve as expert educators for nursing and support staff. The programs described above increased RN knowledge and better prepared them for patient care. The advanced course prepared students well for the BMTCN® exam and our pass rates exceeded the national pass rate. Didactic courses additionally served to introduce RNs to APP staff, thereby increasing approachability and fostering a collegial environment within the program. Our experience demonstrates a unique role that APPs can serve within the HSCT program serving to support the BMT nurse educator and increase RN knowledge and preparedness for initial practice and advanced certification.
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Edgar, C. M., Subryan, E., McVey, C. P., Nelson, M., Varela, J. C., & Browning, A. L. (2022). Unique role of advanced practice providers in didactic education of HSCT nurses. Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, 28(3), S452. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-6367(22)00743-6