NPD Roles: Generalist vs. Specialist
Mary G. Harper, PhD, RN-BC is the Director of Nursing Professional Development for ANPD. Certified in NPD, she obtained her MSN at the University of Florida and her PhD at the University of Central Florida. Dr. Harper co-chaired the work group that revised the Scope and Standards for Nursing Professional Development in 2016.
The publication of the new Nursing
Professional Development: Scope and Standards of Practice (Harper & Maloney,
2016) has ushered in an opportunity for nursing professional development
practitioners to clearly articulate what we do. It also challenges us to
demonstrate our value to our organizations. The new document recognizes our
expanded scope of practice and delineates distinct roles for our specialty
informed by research (Warren & Harper, 2016). In addition, it makes
mentoring/advocating for our profession and specialty a standard of practice.
One of the more groundbreaking concepts of the new scope and
standards is the introduction of “NPD practitioner” as an umbrella term to represent
those who practice NPD. Practitioners may function at two levels: generalist
and specialist. A generalist is an NPD practitioner with a baccalaureate degree
with or without NPD certification or a graduate degree without NPD
certification. A specialist is someone with a graduate degree AND certification
in NPD. If the graduate degree is not in nursing, the baccalaureate must be
(Harper & Maloney, 2016).
Differentiation of the generalist and specialist roles is the
result of several factors. First, we recognize that many individuals who
practice NPD are baccalaureate prepared. In spite of the requirement for a
graduate degree as the minimal preparation for NPD in prior editions of the
scope and standards, the reality is that many nurses who practice NPD do not
have graduate education. Recent research indicates that nearly 40% of our
colleagues have baccalaureate or associate degrees (Harper, Aucoin, &
Warren, 2016). The new scope and standards now acknowledges that not all
members of our specialty have graduate degrees.
In addition to nurses without graduate degrees, the
requirement for certification in NPD is a baccalaureate degree. So while a
nurse could become certified in the specialty, that individual did not meet the
minimal requirement of the scope and standards to identify as a member of the
specialty. The new scope and standards has rectified that.
Finally, the American Nurses Association (ANA, 2010), which
defines and approves specialty nursing practices, requires that a nursing
specialty must be able to differentiate the responsibilities of the graduate
prepared nurse in the specialty. This requirement was initiated shortly after
the publication of the 2010 Nursing Professional Development: Scope and
Standards of Practice (ANA & NNSDO, 2010), so the previous edition of the
scope and standards did not identify two levels of NPD practitioners.
The new designations of generalist and specialist have been
met with overwhelmingly positive responses. Some NPD practitioners indicate
that the designation provides a mechanism for career advancement within the
specialty. Others applaud the ability to differentiate role functions in the
practice environment. Still others state that the differentiation supports the
focus on advanced education and certification.
Unfortunately, not all responses to the new differentiation of
NPD practitioner levels have been positive. Some NPD practitioners indicate
that the new terminology creates additional role confusion. Role confusion in
NPD is not new. A plethora of titles currently exist with little consistency
among organizations. Many of our diverse titles make it difficult to
differentiate between academic nurse educators and NPD practitioners. While we
share many similarities with our academic colleagues, our practice has unique
differences, particularly in the areas of identification of practice gaps, gap
analysis (needs assessment), and evaluation of educational activities.
Others who are not thrilled with the new levels of NPD
practitioners posit that their graduate or doctoral levels of education should
be sufficient for recognition as an NPD specialist. While advanced education is
one requirement for recognition as an NPD specialist, it alone is not
sufficient. Graduate education does not typically provide specialty knowledge.
Most master’s degrees in nursing education focus on the roles and
responsibilities of the academic educator with little or no content on the NPD
specialty and its unique scope of practice. Certification provides evidence of
knowledge in the specialty.
One of the most common questions we’ve received about the NPD
specialist designation in the new scope and standards is “What if I’m certified
in another specialty? Can I still be
recognized as an NPD specialist?” Unfortunately, no. Many, if not most of us,
were selected for our NPD roles because we were excellent clinicians. Being an
excellent clinician does not mean that an individual is automatically a good
learning facilitator (think of the expert clinician who struggles when serving
as a preceptor to help the novice nurse transition to the role of a
professional nurse). NPD is its own unique specialty and requires a unique set
of competencies. As a result, certification in critical care nursing, pediatric
nursing, or even as an academic nurse educator does not demonstrate knowledge
of the NPD specialty.
The purpose of certification is to demonstrate competence in a
specialty. As a group, NPD practitioners do not excel in this area. Two
national research studies have demonstrated that only 16 – 20% of the NPD
practitioners who participated were certified in NPD. On the other hand, approximately 50% were
certified in a clinical specialty. While dual certification may be indicated
for some NPD practitioners—especially those who are unit based—the lack of
certification in NPD is alarming.
In the current complex healthcare environment, NPD departments
are being challenged to demonstrate their value to their organizations or face
reduction in forces or even elimination. The days of simply reporting numbers
of classes conducted or numbers of staff participants are gone. We must be able to demonstrate how we
contribute to the organization’s goals related to patient safety and quality,
staff satisfaction and retention, and financial stability. NPD practitioners
who are not certified in the specialty may lack the knowledge and skill to
measure educational outcomes in a meaningful way.
I challenge you to read our new scope and standards and allow
it to guide your practice. Become immersed
in our specialty. If you’re not certified, become certified. If you don’t have a graduate degree, get
one! Look for meaningful ways to
contribute to your organization. Learn to articulate what you do so that others
in the organization, and especially the C-suite, recognize your value. Get
involved in your professional association on both a local and national
level. If there is not an ANPD affiliate in
your area, start one. Continue your own professional development. Advocate for our specialty!
References
American Nurses Association.
(2010a). Recognition of a nursing specialty, approval of a specialty nursing
scope of practice, and acknowledgement of specialty nursing standards of
practice. Retrieved from: http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/Tools/3-S-Booklet.pdf
American Nurses Association and
National Nursing Staff Development Organization. (2010). Nursing
professional development: Scope and standards of practice. Silver Spring,
MD: ANA.
Harper, M.G., Aucoin, J., and Warren, J.I. (2016).
Nursing professional development organizational value demonstration project. Journal
for Nurses in Professional Development, 32(5), 242 –247.
Harper, M. G. & Maloney, P. (2016). Nursing
professional development: Scope and standards
of practice (3rd ed.). Chicago, IL: ANPD.
Warren, J. I. & Harper, M.
G. (2015, July). Nursing professional development role delineation
study. Presented at the ANPD Annual Convention, Las Vegas, NV.
