Chapter 3: APNs Core Competences
Authors:
Reet Urban, Principal Lecturer,
Aurelija Blaževičienė, Professor
Salla Grommi, Lecturer,
Margit Lenk-Adusoo, Principal Lecturer
Introduction
There are different models which describe competencies, and one of the standard APN competency models is Hamric’s Integrative Model (Tracy et al., 2023). Hamric’s Integrative Model of Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) is a comprehensive framework that describes the core competencies of Advanced Practice Nurses and the elements affecting advanced practice nursing.
In the Hamric model (Tracy et al., 2023), as well as in the agreement of the APN-EDU network member states (Sulosaari et al., 2023), the central competence of the Advanced Practice Nurse is direct clinical practice. According to Hamric’s model (Tracy et al. 2023), five core competencies that support clinical practice are (1) guidance and coaching, (2) evidence-based practice, (3) leadership, (4) collaboration and (5) ethical practice.
This chapter provides an overview of the core competencies for Advanced Practice Nurses based on the Tracy et al. (2023) competency framework, the ICN Guidelines for Advanced Practice Nursing (2020) and the EQF Level 7 competency specification for nurses in clinical practice as described in the Tuning Calohee project (Gobbi & Kaunonen, 2023).
