A rapid review of educational preparedness of advanced clinical practitioners.

Aim To synthesise available data on current educational provision related to preparation for the advanced clinical practice role. Design A mixed methods rapid review of th literature. Data Sources A search of Ovid Medline and Ovid EMBASE for English language papers published 2006-2018 resulted in 38 publications, which met the criteria for inclusion. Review Methods Using Tricco’s seven-stage process, following identification of relevant papers and data extraction, a data-based convergent synthesis was used to convert quantitative papers into qualitative data prior to completing a narrative synthesis. Results The four themes identified from data synthesis were consolidation; theory practice gap; competency and mentoring. A lack of preparedness for new advanced clinical practitioners completing an educational programme was noted with a need identified for a clinically focussed consolidation period to enable practitioners to develop their skills under supervision in the clinical environment. Conclusion As the needs for different models of healthcare evolves with the expansion of advanced practice; appropriate education and clinical supervision are important aspects in the delivery of programmes that allow individuals to be competent and confident practitioners providing safe and effective healthcare. Impact • There is a paucity of papers on educational preparedness of advanced clinical practitioners. • Our findings demonstrate a lack of preparedness and the need for a clinically focussed consolidation period with good role models and mentors following completion of a Master’s programme. • Employers and higher education institutions need to ensure a protected period of time is available for newly qualified advanced clinical practitioners to allow consolidation of clinical practice. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Bench, S. (2019) A Rapid Review of Educational Preparedness of Advanced Clinical Practitioners, Journal of Advanced Nursing. Which will be published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652648. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions