| Today, society has created a demand for low cost, high-quality health care. Nursing has stepped up to this demand by creating highly educated roles of Advanced Practice Nurses. Changes to the traditional models of nursing practice, such as nurse practitioners in the operating room, have necessitated changes in the process of patient care. The purpose of this study is to recognize and learn about the new role of the Surgical Nurse Practitioner. Utilizing a Phenomenological method, each participant will describe their lived experience as a Surgical Nurse Practitioner. The study was conducted by asking exploratory open-ended questions to three voluntary Surgical NP's. An interpretive approach developed by Van Manen called Heideggerian hermeneutics was used to analyze and interpret the lived experiences of surgical NP's. By identifying common themes, this study explores the impact of surgical NP's during this changing time. Results of the study identified three thematic categories. These categories were cost effectiveness, patient satisfaction/outcomes, and barriers. The role was described as an expansion of the peri-operative role. It is described as a collaborative role that follows the patient throughout the continuum. The Surgical NP's commitment to focus on individual patients, as a whole, is further indicative of the type of Holistic care that a Nurse Practitioner offers. |
