Nurse Practitioners in Orthopaedic Surgical Settings: A Review of the Literature.
Brittany G Spence, Joanne Ricci, Fairleth McCuaig
PMID 30676571WHAT IT FOUND
Nurse practitioners in orthopaedic surgical teams were reported to improve access, communication and length of stay, but formal specialty training was inconsistent.
Key findings
01Three NP models were described: physician extender, independent care for less complex patients, and team-based senior resident-like roles.
02The review reported improved access, communication and shorter length of stay after NPs were added to orthopaedic teams.
03Formal NP orthopaedic training was inconsistent, with on-the-job mentorship ranging from 3 months to upward of a year.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only nine articles were included after title and abstract screening, so the themes may not cover all orthopaedic NP settings. The three NP models were described from different studies, so it is unclear which model produced the reported benefits. Some benefits were reported from non-orthopaedic settings, such as gastroenterology, so they may not transfer directly to orthopaedic teams. Formal NP orthopaedic training was inconsistent, with on-the-job mentorship ranging from 3 months to upward of a year, so findings may not apply to all NP preparation levels. The review focused on NP roles and workforce integration, not on patient-level therapy interventions.
Declared interests
The authors disclosed no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the reported improvements as proof that nurse practitioners caused better orthopaedic outcomes. The paper is a review of nine articles and reports themes from included studies, not a controlled trial.