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Survey Development

Introduction  |  Survey Development
Client
National Council of State Boards of Nursing internal project
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Duration
2 months
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Role on Project
Principal investigator
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Skills Demonstrated

Qualitative research

Stakeholder interviewing

Expert interviewing

Item development

Survey methodology

Introduction

This project was the development of a survey methodology to investigate the use of collaborative practice agreements between Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) and physicians.

 

Each state regulates APRN practice differently. Some states require collaborative practice agreements between APRNs and physicians, while other states require supervision by a physician, and other states allow APRNs to practice independently.

 

A survey methodology was developed to investigate if collaborative practice agreements between APRNs and physicians actually facilitate collaboration in a way that protects the public. The survey was sent to approximately 130,000 APRNs.

Introduction

01. Survey Development

Qualitative Document Review

APRN Nurse Practice Acts (rules & regulations) were reviewed to obtain information on the content and variability of collaborative practice agreements by state

Step 1

Two coders looked-up each state’s Nurse Practice Act and compiled text related to APRN collaborative practice agreements by state.

Step 2

Common themes and important themes were identified by each coder.

Step 3

The two coders came together and agreed on the set of common and important themes.

Step 4

The two coders returned to the compiled text & coded for important & common themes. Resulted in a table that identified each common & important theme, which states have each theme, & percentage of states with the theme.

Step 5

The two coders came together and reconciled any differences in coding of themes, by state.

Stakeholder & Expert Interviewing

  • Multiple rounds of stakeholder and expert interviewing within NCSBN were conducted to inform survey item development and edit survey content

  • Near final versions of the survey were sent to external stakeholder groups (i.e., various APRN association leadership) for review and input

Survey Content
42 items covering these topics

  • What the collaborative practice agreement is based on

  • Who constructed it

  • Length of time under the agreement 

  • How often the agreement is reviewed/renewed

  • Benefits and disadvantages to the agreement

  • Referrals and consultations

  • Frequency and mode of communication with the collaborating physician, proximity to and availability of the collaborating physician

  • Chart reviews performed by the collaborating physician

  • Financial costs of establishing and maintaining the collaborative agreement 

  • Malpractice insurance coverage

  • Length of time to find a replacement collaborating physician

  • Restrictions to practice

  • Challenges with complying to the collaborative agreement

42 items covering these topics
Final unformatted survey

The online version was developed using Qualtrics

Survey Protocol

Click to view the survey protocol

Survey Development
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