Important Goals for New Advanced Practice Provider Leaders

Here are the three things you need to focus on now if you’re a new Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Leader

If you are a new APP Leader (or plan to be), you know how daunting a task it can be. To help you get started, a group of experienced APP Leaders in a recent Melnic Collaborative Conversation has come up with a list of a few important areas that you can start focusing on now.

Goal 1: Educate Others

Other leaders in your department may not know what APPs are capable of unless they’ve had experience with Advanced Practice Providers before. In the role of an APP Leader, it is imperative that you educate them about the vision and capabilities of Advanced Practice Providers, and their full scope of practice.

In order to avoid having your APPs over-worked or under-utilized, you need to be their advocate. Get to know the strengths and abilities of the APPs you are leading, and make sure to convey these attributes to your colleagues who don’t recognize their capabilities.

Goal 2: Break Down Barriers

An alternative to working with leaders who have no experience with Advanced Practice Providers, is working with leaders who have had a misleading experience with Advanced Practice Providers. One of the participants in the Melnic Collaborative Conversation shared an experience she had in a hospital where she felt restricted by unspoken expectations. The Nurse Practitioner who held her position before acted as a “box-checker,” and that is what the physicians she worked with had come to expect. This particular Nurse Practitioner needed to break down their pre-conceived notions and show what she could bring to the table before her APP skills could be utilized.

Goal 3: Build Relationships

Of course, educating others and breaking down barriers can only be accomplished after you have a good working relationship. As the APP lead, you need to build a strong relationship with physicians, directors, and other supervisors to create open channels of communication. Not only will this help to create a more cohesive environment, but it will allow you to more effectively advocate for the APPs you are leading, and promote the needs of your program. It will also enable your APPs in clinical roles to focus on providing exceptional patient care.

Above All, Maintain a Patient Care Perspective

By keeping the patient’s needs first – a goal all healthcare providers can agree on – you can help align your goals with other leaders. Then, when your goals are aligned, you can begin to work together as a unit with a better understanding and appreciation for one another. If you can accomplish these goals as an APP Lead, you are well on your way to creating a better environment for your team, and your patients!

The team at Melnic is here to support you and your nursing career development. If you are looking for a new APP Leadership job, please join our network.