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Advanced practitioners’ experience of interprofessional collaboration when implementing evidence-based practice into routine care: an Interpretative phenomenological analysis
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Date
2021-09-30
Authors
Clarke, Vanessa
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University College Cork
Published Version
Abstract
Background: Implementation of Evidence-based Practice (EBP) is essential in ensuring high quality healthcare at minimum cost. Nurse practitioners as clinical leaders are responsible for leading and collaborating with interprofessional teams to implement EBP across patient groups and embed practice change into routine care. Interprofessional collaboration has been identified as an essential element for the successful implementation of EBP into routine care.
Limited evidence from previous literature findings indicated that collaborative practice issues impeded nurse practitioners in implementing EBP into routine care. However, findings were not adequate to inform specific practice and policy recommendations nationally and internationally. Further research was therefore required into this aspect of the nurse practitioner role.
Aim: To understand Registered Advanced Nurse and Midwife practitioners’ experience of interprofessional collaboration in implementing EBP into routine care in the Republic of Ireland.
Methods: Qualitative Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used for this study. A purposeful sample of ten Registered Advanced Nurse and Advanced Midwife Practitioners from a range of practice settings participated in semi-structured interviews which were audio recorded and then transcribed verbatim. NVivo version 12 was used for data management purposes. Data were analysed using IPA.
Findings: Six superordinate themes emerged from the interpretative analysis. Advanced practitioners perceived that at times “Understanding of Advanced Practice” was limited. Advanced practitioners described being “Treated as an equal and as a nurse”. Being treated as a “nurse” was associated with being treated as subordinate to other professionals. The extent to which advanced practitioners enjoyed “Nursing Management Support” varied. Some advanced practitioners described having opportunities to participate in their organisation’s executive and decision-making forums which afforded them the opportunity to have “A Voice to Implement Anything New.”. However, others were unable to avail of these opportunities. Levels of participant “Confidence” and “Emotional Intelligence” impacted relationships with members of the interprofessional team. The issues identified in the six superordinate themes influenced the extent to which advanced practitioners could collaborate effectively to implement EBP into routine care.
Conclusion and Implications: There is scope to improve advanced practitioners’ ability to collaborate with the interprofessional team in implementing EBP into routine care. Ameliorative measures should focus on increasing understanding of the advanced practitioner role; facilitating advanced practitioner access to organisational decision-making forums; and developing skills and attributes necessary for interprofessional collaboration and the implementation of EBP into routine care.
Description
Keywords
Advanced nurse and midwife practitioners , Evidence-based practice , Interprofessional collaboration
Citation
Clarke, V. 2021. Advanced practitioners’ experience of interprofessional collaboration when implementing evidence-based practice into routine care: an Interpretative phenomenological analysis. DN Thesis, University College Cork.