by Matt Batcheldor
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a leading institution for advanced practice professionals, recently reached another milestone for prominence in this area.
The second edition of “Integrating Advanced Practice Providers in the ICU” was published by the Society of Critical Care Medicine, and VUMC is represented in three out of the 14 chapters. No other institution has such representation.
April Kapu, DNP, APRN, ACNP, associate nursing officer for VUMC Advanced Practice and director of the Office of Advanced Practice, described the book as a road map for nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the ICU.
“They learn how to structure the staffing, the orientation, how to bill for their services, how to measure their outcomes,” she said. “To have Vanderbilt as the institution setting the pace is amazing.”
Kapu is an author of the eighth chapter, “Advanced Practice Providers at the Organizational Level.” The chapter’s objectives include describing the typical components of an advanced practice provider’s organizational structure and the balance of centralized and decentralized leadership and programs as well as discussing the purpose and types of advanced practice leadership models.
Caroline Banes, MSN, RN, ACNP, Trauma ICU Lead Nurse Practitioner, is an author in the fourth chapter, “Developing Orientation Programs for APPs in the ICU.” The chapter offers strategies and methods for developing and implementing orientation programs.
Janna Landsperger, ACNP, a nurse practitioner in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at VUMC, is an author of the 10th chapter, “Metrics for Critical Care Medicine Advanced Practice Provider Teams.” The chapter explores advanced practice teams’ productivity issues and attribution issues regarding outcomes in team-based care.
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing is also represented. Ruth Kleinpell, PhD, AG-ACNP, assistant dean for Clinical Scholarship at VUSN, authored the sixth chapter, “Assessing Outcomes of Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants in the ICU.” It reviews the evidence of advanced practice providers in the ICU, discusses key considerations when assessing the outcomes of such providers and highlights strategies for demonstrating outcomes. Kleinpell is the immediate past president of the Society of Critical Care Medicine.
There are nearly 1,200 advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and physician assistants (PAs) practicing at VUMC.
In addition to PA colleagues, APRN roles encompass Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives and Clinical Nurse Specialists.
All practitioners are educated in nationally accredited programs, clinically trained and board certified in their area of practice.
