Standardizing the Transition to Practice for Advanced Practice Providers in Critical Care

Abstract

Background: There is a lack of transitional support for new hire advanced practice providers (APPs), especially within the critical care sector of healthcare which is leading to increased burnout, anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, and a lack of confidence as a new provider. Purpose: The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project way to development and implement curriculum- and resource-based educational onboarding and orientation materials to provide transitional support for new hire APPs in the medical intensive care unit (MICU) within a large academic teaching hospital. Methods: Utilizing an online platform named Brightspace, old onboarding and orientation materials were removed and updated content was either created or virtually sourced to create a structured and sustainable onboarding and orientation experience for future MICU new hires. Pre- and post-implementation surveys were utilized to evaluate whether the updates of Brightspace information were positive or negative for upcoming new hires. Results: A total of 12 participants from the current MICU practice participated in the project. There was a noted 92% significant improvement in content provided in Brightspace with 75% reporting the new content being more applicable to the APP transition to practice specifically for transition into the MICU group. Conclusions: Creation of a curriculum- and resource-based educational onboarding and orientation materials resulted in a reported improvement in content included and advancements in potential new hire readiness for practicing as a MICU APP following onboarding and orientation. Development of a structured onboarding and orientation process could lead to decreases in new hire anxiety and could provide a standardized approach to the APP transition to practice for other MICUs across the nation.