Education of a nurse practitioner in the hospital at home setting: A qualitative study

Aim(s)

To explore barriers, facilitators, and practical implications of educating a nurse practitioner in hospital at home setting from the perspective of the nurse practitioner in training, healthcare professionals, educators, and managers.

Background

Hospital at home care is considered promising to deal with current healthcare challenges. Nurse practitioners can have a pivotal role in delivering hospital at home care. Currently there is limited knowledge on education of nurse practitioners in this setting.

Design

A generic qualitative study.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the nurse practitioner in training, educators, healthcare professionals, and managers working at the hospital or community care organization. The interviews focused on experiences, barriers, and facilitators related to learning and working in the hospital at home setting. Data were coded and thematised.

Results

The following six themes emerged: 1) Provide care aligned with the patient's journey; 2) Articulating a clear vision on training in the hospital at home setting; 3) Integrated learning and working requires a wide range of competencies; 4) Integrated learning requires a coherent and motivated team; 5) Practical obstacles require a pragmatic approach; and 6) Clarity on the positioning of nurse practitioners is essential.

Conclusions

The findings show that an educational trajectory for a nurse practitioner in a hospital at home setting can be successfully established. Various factors were identified that need to be considered in the development and executing of such learning trajectory. Organizations are recommended to take shared responsibility for these learning trajectories.

Reporting method

EQUATOR guidelines.

Patient or public contribution

No Patient or Public Contribution