Dissemination of a National Set of Family Practice Nursing Competencies to Support the Integration of Family Practice Nurses within Primary Care

Family practice nursing offers a feasible and affordable solution to improve access to primary care, reduce costs, and promote high-quality of care. Family practice nurses are Registered Nurses who practice in primary care. Across many jurisdictions in Canada, family practice nurses form the core of interprofessional primary care teams. Currently, a national research/stakeholder team are developing the first set of national family practice nursing competencies to support the integration and optimization of Registered Nurses in primary care. Competencies are the integrated knowledge, skills, judgement and attributes required of a family practice nurse to practice safely and ethically. Therefore, the objectives of this project are: (1) To support knowledge translation and dissemination of family practice nursing competencies to patients/public citizens, primary care providers, health administrators, educators, decision-makers, and relevant associations nationally and internationally, and (2) To facilitate the use of family practice nursing competencies by key stakeholders in activities focused on the integration of family practice nurses in primary care. Family practice nursing competencies will have tremendous value to relevant stakeholders and sectors nationally and internationally. The dissemination of these competencies is key to strengthening the family practice nursing workforce in Canada and shaping the development of family practice nursing competencies internationally. These competencies will clarify roles of family practice nurses, serve as a valuable tool to support inter-professional team functioning, inform undergraduate nursing education, and reassure the public that nurses are delivering a high-standard of care. Sharing these competencies at an international-level has the potential to catalyze similar initiatives across the globe that will facilitate the integration of family practice nurses in primary care.