Family Nurse Practitioners: an exploratory study ^*

Enfermera de Práctica Avanzada de Familia: estudio exploratorio

ABSTRACT

Objective:

To understand Family Nurse Practitioners’ practice, educational process and policy in the United States.

Method:

This is an exploratory, quantitative and qualitative study, developed in 2019 based on clinical observations and interviews with seven Family Nurse Practitioners in the state of New York. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed by the researcher through the observations made and also by the Interface de R pour les Analyses Multidimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionnaires software. The research was approved under Opinion IRB19-49.

Results:

Three content partitions emerged in the Descending Hierarchical Classification: 1) Being a nurse practitioner; 2) Educational paths and possibilities for action; and 3) Being political: a path to transformation. It was possible to describe skills and competencies considered outstanding in relation to other professional categories, points of improvement in their educational background and the importance of political representation and being active in role performance.

Conclusion:

This study highlights the similarities with the nurse working in Primary Care in Brazil and serves as a subsidy in the process of implementing this category in Brazilian Primary Care.

DESCRIPTORS
Advanced Practice Nursing; Nursing; Family Nurse Practitioners; Primary Health Care; Health Policy