Online instruction is a teaching and learning modality that is commonly used in nurse practitioner programs. Student engagement is one of the main goals in nursing education. This presentation will focus on a novel way of engaging students in prescriptive authority advocacy in an online nurse practitioner program.
Online instruction is a teaching and learning modality that is commonly used in nurse practitioner programs. Student engagement is one of the main goals in nursing education. This presentation will focus on a novel way of engaging students in prescriptive authority advocacy in an online nurse practitioner program. In Advanced Pharmacology, students learn to be safe prescribers, but in many states, there are considerable restrictions on prescriptive authority for nurse practitioners. In the course which will be highlighted, laws regarding prescriptive authority are reviewed, but the students actually make a trip to the state capitol to engage with legislators about how prescriptive authority is determined and how the laws the legislators make influence nurse practitioner practice on a daily basis. By having students meet with legislators, the learning about laws is activated in a way that brings greater understanding to the issues affecting advanced practice nurses at the state-level. The students then complete discussions and a written assignment regarding their experiences at the capitol and their understanding of the legislative process. By their interactions with legislators, they serve as advocates for advanced practice nurses and advanced practice nursing education. By choosing assignments that activate student learning, students will become more engaged in the online classroom setting. Advocacy is a crucial skill for future nurse practitioners, and this skill is not part of a formal skills assessment in nurse practitioner programs.