Exploring health care providers' perspectives on the roles played by nurse practitioners in clinical care in Taiwan: A qualitative study.

Background: Nurse practitioners (NPs) have become indispensable to clinical care. However, few studies have used qualitative research designs to explore health care providers' perspectives on the roles played by NPs in clinical care.

Purpose: Investigating health care providers' perspectives on the roles played by NPs in clinical care in Taiwan.

Methodology: A qualitative research design was employed in a single medical center in Taiwan. A semistructured interview guide was used to conduct face-to-face interviews with medical-surgical health care providers in groups. A total of nine participants, including physicians, nursing supervisors, and NPs, were interviewed in this study.

Results: The findings of this study highlight three themes concerning the roles played by NPs in clinical care in Taiwan: (1) guardian of care: NPs are keen observers, caregivers, and strong advocates for patients; (2) bridge for communication: NPs are persuasive communicators and effective mediators who use resources effectively; and (3) promoter of improvement in the quality of care: NPs are experienced and dedicated professionals.

Conclusions: The themes of guardian of care, bridge for communication, and promoter of improvement in the quality of care characterized the roles played by NPs in clinical care from the perspectives of health care providers. Future researchers could further examine these roles from the perspective of patients and investigate the impacts of NPs' role characteristics on clinical outcomes.

Implications: The role characteristics of keen observers, meticulous caregivers, and advocators could be incorporated into cultivating and training NPs.