Career Center

The Advance Practice Nurse Leader (APNL) demonstrates expert knowledge and skill in a specialty patient population, service line, and across the continuum of care for the system. The APNL leads work, processes, and people to design, develop, implement, and evaluate innovative, evidence-based interventions and best practices to optimize safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness. The APNL generates and evaluates evidence for practice through partnership with nurses and other members of the inter-professional team and demonstrates professional leadership in work at the patient, microsystem and macrosystem levels.

Patient Care and Evaluation of Clinical Practice

• Evaluates care of the patient/population against professional standards and evidence.
• Analyzes proposed practice initiatives to establish effects on safety, effectiveness, and efficacy.
• Designs, implements, and evaluates practice and outcomes.
• Acquires and analyzes data from multiple sources to guide design of practice changes.
• Disseminates findings from evidencebased practice and research to improve healthcare outcomes.
• Collaborates in the development of clear guidelines, performance standards, policies, and procedures.
• Demonstrates sensitivity to diverse organizational cultures and populations, including patients and providers.
• Synthesizes assessment data, advanced knowledge, and experience, using critical thinking and clinical judgment to formulate differential diagnoses for clinical problems amenable to the APRN intervention.
• Designs and communicates strategies based on evidence, including advanced nursing therapies, to meet the multifaceted needs of complex patients and groups of patients.
• Prescribes nursing therapeutics, pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions, diagnostic measures, equipment, procedures, and treatments to meet the needs of patients, families, and groups, in accordance with professional preparation, institutional privileges, state and federal laws and practice acts.

Consultation

• Provides consultation on the care delivery for complex patients/family situations.
• Employs consultative and leadership skills within and among professional teams.
• Creates an environment to improve capacity for learning and adaptation to change.
• Provides consultation in development of patient/family education materials.
• Communicates findings to key stakeholders and follows up with others to ensure closed loop communication.
• Consults with others to obtain resources as necessary to facilitate progress toward achieving identified outcomes consistent with professional and institutional standards, then communicates plan to appropriate team members.

Systems Leadership

• Promotes competency, excellence in professional and clinical practice and collaborative working relationships across the continuum of care.
• Participates in and/or leads the development and review of policies and procedures across the continuum of care.
• Leads nursing quality and safety initiatives, committees, and/or projects. Monitors, improves, and evaluates nursing sensitive indicators and other clinical quality metrics to improve clinical performance.
• Performs assessments and designs plans to meet regulatory requirements related to nursing practice.
• Performs and communicates system level assessments to identify variables that influence nursing practice and outcomes.

Collaboration

• Builds effective teams by including key stakeholders within and across units, departments, service lines, populations, sites, and organization.
• Collaborates with and supports the work of Unit Councils to improve patient care and interdisciplinary workflows.
• Uses effective strategies for leading, communicating, and facilitating changes in clinician practice and team behavior to encourage adoption of evidence-based practices and innovations in care delivery.
• Articulates unique APRN contributions on systems of care using nurse-sensitive outcomes.

Coaching

• Supports the clinical and professional development of colleagues through precepting, mentoring, and role modeling.
• Participates in staff development and professional education supporting nurse continuing competence.

Research

• Acquires, analyzes, plans, disseminates, and implements evidence-based practice into clinical environment to promote best practices.
• Cultivates a climate of clinical inquiry across spheres of influence, identifies research interests of health care area and assesses barriers/facilitators to encourage nurses performing research.
• Initiates, facilitates, and/or participates in research activities or quality improvement activities.
  • Acts as primary or co-investigator on IRB approved research teams.

Ethical Decision-Making

• Applies ethical principles when analyzing and assisting with concerns or issues.

Prescriptive Authority and Treatment (as defined by population and role)

• Prescribes evidenced-based treatments, therapies, and procedures considering the patients healthcare needs.
• Prescribe pharmacologic agents, as appropriate for role and state law

Minimum Qualifications to Fulfill Job Responsibilities:

Required