A Study of Family Nurse Practitioners: Perceived Competencies and Some of Their Implications for Nursing Education.

This study was designed to determine the most common health needs and problems that family nurse practitioners (FNP) deal with, to determine how competent FNPs judge themselves to be, to determine what sources in nursing education FNPs judge to be most valuable, and to determine whether or not there were significant differences in the level of current competency which FNPs judge themselves to have and their frequency of need for this competency. Using a questionnaire designed especially for this study, data were collected from 327 nurses. The returns came from forty states and represented an eighty-three percent return rate. Data were analyzed using summary statistics, analysis of variance, and Newman-Keuls multiple comparison technique. Results identified the most common patient problems respondents encountered in each of twelve major health categories, how competent they judged themselves to be to assess and manage the problems, and where in nursing education they recommended the development of competency to assess and manage these problems be emphasized. (Complete data analysis is included along with discussion of implications for nursing education and suggestions for further research.) (BB)