April 14th, 2014
The aim of this study is to foster a greater understanding of the nurse practitioners’ practices in Ontario that contribute to interprofessional collaboration among nurses, doctors, and other providers for the purpose of providing high quality, timely and safe care to hospitalized patients and long term care residents.
Nurse practitioners have been described as the “hub” of care provided to patients admitted to hospitals. They are in a position to spearhead coordination of patient care. There is limited understanding of how nurse practitioners enhance the practices of other professionals on the healthcare team and this study provided a unique opportunity to better understand their role in patient centred care.
The study revealed a number of important findings:
Nurse Practitioners in acute and long term care facilities reported full engagement in interprofessional care, and they said they could increase their activities of interdependence to enhance the provision of health services to patients. The study further found that Nurse Practitioners are consistent, available, peacemakers who bridge professions and focus on patient care. One additional finding was that Nurse Practitioners use three forms of interacting which include: “brief knotworking” to build and share information, “rapid knotworking” to promote collaboration, negotiation and delegation and they are initiators of social interactions that build trust and foster professional relationships.
The Nurse Practitioner Practice, Integration and Outcomes Study is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care and is designed to explore nurse practitioners’ practices within a healthcare professional team setting. This was accomplished by undertaking a nurse practitioner self-assessment survey of 149 nurses, conducting interviews with 52 healthcare professionals in 10 different health care professions, and professional third party observations of 24 nurse practitioners in regions across Ontario in both hospital and long term care settings.
This research study describes the interprofessional activities of nurse practitioners and how they contribute to interprofessional care. Knowledge from this study will be used to improve nurse practitioner role clarity and recognize role value. The study also outlines how nurse practitioners interact with interprofessional team members to influence interprofessional care. The knowledge of how nurse practitioners interact is valuable for practicing nurse practitioners and their educators to influence purposeful engagement in interprofessional care.
What are the next steps?
- Further exploration from the patient and family perspective is underway
- We are completing a study aimed to determine the extent to which nurse practitioners’ practices are associated with improvement in patient and system outcomes
Resources
We have included a number of resources to help you understand the study and its purpose. Please access these assets and use them in the preparation of any information relating to this study.
The information and associated assets on this web page are available for use under a limited license subject to the following terms and conditions:
- Press release content and the information on this web page must not be altered. Do not add or remove hyperlinks.
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There are no charges if used as per the above terms and conditions. Any other use requires prior written approval. We reserve the right to update the above terms and conditions at any time.
Downloadable Assets
CBC News Article: Nurse practitioners offer good value in health care, study says
| Fact Sheet: This is a more detailed explanation of the study and its findings which can be download here. Study Fact Sheet |
| Glossary: This is a glossary of terms to help explain some of the more technical health related language used in this study.Glossary |
| Main Contact:Please contact Tina directly to learn more about this study | Tina Hurlock-Chorostecki, PhD, NP Adult Assistant Professor, Western University and, Nurse Practitioner, London Health Sciences Centre offfice: 519-685-8500 ext 57246 cell: 519-619-7451 |
| Video: We have included links to video interview comments from key principle investigators and co-investigators to offer in-depth insight into the study. These videos are available to use “as is” in whole or in part for any news article relating directly to this study and its findings. | Tina Hurlock-Chorostecki, PhD, NP Adult Assistant Professor, Western University and, Nurse Practitioner, London Health Sciences Centre http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wbukDR-NBg&feature=youtu.be |
Kathleen MacMillan, RN, PhD, Professor and Director, School of Nursing, Dalhousie University https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqqgCnM8Vmg |
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Mary van Soeren, RN, PhD, Associate Professor and Associate Director Undergraduate Programs, School of Nursing, Dalhousie University 
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Scott Reeves, PhD, Professor in Interprofessional Research, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, Kingston/St George’s University of London, UK, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Interprofessional Care 
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The Study Team
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Principal Investigators |
Co-Investigators |
| Souraya Sidani, PhD, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Mary van Soeren, RN, PhD, Associate Professor and Associate Director Undergraduate Programs, School of Nursing, Dalhousie University |
| Kathleen MacMillan, RN, PhD, Professor and Director, School of Nursing, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada | Tina Hurlock-Chorostecki, PhD, NP Adult, Assistant Professor, Western University and, Nurse Practitioner, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario |
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Post-Doctoral Fellow |
Scott Reeves, PhD, Professor in Interprofessional Research, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, Kingston/St George’s University of London, UK., Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Interprofessional Care |
| Patti Harbman, NP-PHC, PhD, Nurse Scientist, Trillium Health Partners, Postdoctoral Fellow, Health Interventions Research Centre, Ryerson University, Assistant Clinical Professor, Canadian Centre for Advanced Practice Nursing Research, McMaster University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |
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Project Co-ordinator |
Faith Donald, NP-PHC, PhD, Associate Professor, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Affiliate Faculty, Canadian Centre for Advanced Practice Nursing Research, McMaster University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Laura Collins, BA, MES, Project Coordinator, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |
| Patti Staples, RNEC, NP-A, MScN, Nurse Practitioner, Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada |
