Meeting Abstract

JL406. BMDACC Breast Cancer Program Clinical Rotation for Nurse Practitioner Students

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ABSTRACT

Purpose: To increase awareness and promote understanding of multidisciplinary care for breast cancer patients. Background: Clinical rotations are designed to bridge the gap between didactic and practice. However, there are significant variances in the quality of clinical rotations provided for nurse practitioner students, particularly in specialty areas like oncology. It is becoming increasingly difficult for graduate students to find supportive clinical mentors. Design: Creation of a formal 80-hour clinical rotation for adult, acute care, and doctoral nurse practitioner students. Students work directly with nurse practitioner mentors who utilize holistic evidence-based practice techniques. Methods: Students are given a pre-test at the beginning of the clinical rotation, then provided evidence-based articles to read throughout their time on campus. They are given a detailed itinerary, and specific clinical objectives. Students rotate through surgical oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, integrative medicine, and specialty services. Findings: Students completed a post-test at the end of the clinical rotation. At the end of one year (May 2015 to May 2016), program information was analyzed. All scores increased (n=8), with the average of 43.21% improvement. Clinical mentors provided a written student evaluation based on both unique program and NONPF nurse practitioner core competencies. Students provided positive verbal and written feedback regarding the clinical rotation. Conclusions: Creation of a multidisciplinary formal clinical rotation for nurse practitioner students provided multiple benefits, including: academic leadership, promotion of facility awareness at the state and national level, quality improvement project for NAPBC accreditation, advanced practice provider recruitment, and nurse practitioner retention. All students demonstrated an improved knowledge of oncology and an increased proficiency with their clinical skill set. Implications: We were able to establish and build positive relationships with nurse practitioner program directors and deans at the major state universities, and obtained adjunct faculty status for all members of our mentor team. For the second year of our program, we expanded eligibility by offering our program to women’s health and family nurse practitioner students. Clinical Relevance: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States (CDC, 2015). It is critical that nurse practitioners have the skill set to evaluate diagnostics and pathology reports, and expedite referral to oncology specialists to improve patient outcomes. This project demonstrates the ability of experienced nurse practitioners to positively impact the next generation of oncology practitioners.

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