These frequently asked questions are from nurses considering application for Nursing Council of New Zealand (NCNZ) Nurse Practitioner registration. This information is also available as a pdf file.
The Nurse Practitioner responding to the health needs in New Zealand is a key document to guide the process of application. This document is available on www.nursingcouncil.org.nz or a hard copy can be purchased from the Nursing Council by either writing to PO Box 9644 or by phone on 04 802 0247.
So, you want to go down the Nurse Practitioner registration pathway…Have you done the following?
If you have answered NO to any of the above, NPAC-NZ strongly recommends you do these things before progressing any further.
Will there be a Nurse Practitioner position for me when I register?
NPAC-NZ advises you to have discussions about possible NP positions with your Director of Nursing or potential employer or funder at the earliest opportunity.
What mentorship is available to me?
NPAC-NZ through its constituent groups (New Zealand Nurses Organisation, College of Nurses Aotearoa, National Council of Maori Nurses and the NZ College of Mental Health Nurses) has established a mentoring programme to assist applicants.
If you are planning to apply for registration as a Nurse Practitioner and would like to have a mentor, contact your professional organisation. The mentors are nurses who are either Nurse Practitioners, or nurses with specific NP mentor training by the Nursing Council and NPAC-NZ. Your mentor will guide you with the application process, including refining your portfolio. NPAC-NZ highly recommends that you get a mentor and that you do not embark on this journey alone.
What should be in my portfolio?
The portfolio provides evidence for each of the competencies that must be achieved to become a Nurse Practitioner. The portfolio gives you the opportunity to describe your nursing practice, and how you contribute to the improvement of outcomes for the patients and families in your care.
It is important that the evidence you provide is succinct, and it is acceptable (and you are encouraged) to use one piece of evidence for more than one competency where appropriate, with relevant cross referencing.
Your emphasis should be on the quality of your evidence rather than the quantity. Your focus on nursing practice, your underlying philosophy, advanced assessment skills, utilisation of evidence in clinial decision-making and continuous quality improvement strategies should be evident to the assessment panel.
While there is no set outline for the portfolio, some essential components should be included:
Remember...before sending your portfolio for assessment, all supporting evidence must be verified. The verification must include a signature, a date, and the designation of the person verifying the document.
Check that this has been done on all necessary documents before sending your portfolio for assessment, as having to go back and obtain verification will slow down the application process.
How should I set out my portfolio?
A professional presentation of your work is important. There is no set format, but it is important that your portfolio is clear and easy for the panel to read. It is important that you lead the assessors through the content of your portfolio by having a clear contents page and that information is logically presented.
There must be an index and the sections are to be divided by tabbed inserts and the pages numbered.
For example: Scholarly Inquiry – You may include in this section any research that you have been involved with, presentations, publications or any documents which demonstrate how you have contributed to the body of knowledge. Remember that the panel members need to find the evidence within your portfolio, so make it as easy as possible for them.
When your portfolio is complete, return to the guidelines for applicants and check that you have included all the necessary documents. You may find it useful to have a ‘tick list’.
What is an area of practice?
Your area of practice is unique to you. Your proposed area of practice must include the community and specialty that you practice within and the parameters of your practice. To put it simply, an area of practice is what you intend to do as a nurse practitioner, who you will practice with and how you will go about doing that.
Many nurses applying for registration as a nurse practitioner find this the most difficult to write. While it may be difficult to get started, once you have started you will find, as others have, that this is an opportunity to really think about your nursing practice, and reflect the skills you have and the care that you provide. A useful place to start is to read about areas of practice in the literature.
NB. It is important to understand that it is your responsibility to ensure that while you are developing the capabilities of a Nurse Practitioner, you practice within your scope of practice as a Registered Nurse. You will require supervision from an appropriately qualified clinician while you are honing your advanced practice skills and practicing the competencies of a Nurse Practitioner. It would be useful to describe this process to the panel and describe how you will practice as a NP.
What does the panel want to see in the journal of your typical working week?
The journal is an opportunity for you to demonstrate reflective nursing practice. The suggestion is that you write a typical week consisting of three to five days, ensuring you maintain confidentiality and anonymity of your patients.
Again, there are no set guidelines. The panel should be able to see you providing evidence based care at an advanced level and your reflections of the efficacy of that care – you may wish to provide a commentary about why you made decisions and the outcomes of your decisions to evidence this. This journal needs to be verified.
How do I know if my Master’s programme has been approved by the Nursing Council?
The programmes currently approved are on the NCNZ website www.nursingcouncil.org.nz. This web-site is frequently updated. If you are enrolling or are currently enrolled in a Master’s programme, ask the education provider if it is a Nursing Council-approved programme.
What is Educational Equivalence and how is it assessed?
The educational equivalence option reduces barriers for the many nurses who have not had access to a clinically focused Master’s of Nursing programme but have achieved advanced nursing knowledge and practice through other pathways (such as other Master’s programmes or courses of study). The applicant is required to demonstrate within their portfolio the integration of theory, research and nursing practice in achieving positive outcomes for patients within their scope of practice. The level at which this utilisation of advanced nursing knowledge, critique and analysis is to be demonstrated is at Master’s graduate level.
There is a separate process to assess the education equivalence to a clinically focused Master’s programme. First, an external education advisor assesses the portfolio and makes a recommendation. The Education Committee of the Nursing Council undertakes an assessment and makes a recommendation. It is important to note that the assessment of educational equivalence is not against Nurse Practitioner competencies (that is the role of the Nurse Practitioner assessment panel) but against the level of thinking, knowledge and reflection of a Master’s graduate.
Who makes up the panel to assess your portfolio and interview you?
Assessment panels are tailored to each applicant’s area of practice. Different members bring essential skills to the panel. These include:
Generally there are four panel members, but the roles may be combined. An example of this is that the advanced practice nurse may also be from the same area of practice as the applicant. Where there are Nurse Practitioners within the same area of practice, they may also part of the assessment panels. Other panel members may include a representative from a particular cultural or consumer group.
In additional to the panel members there will be a Nursing Council staff member present at the panel assessment. The role of the Nursing Council staff is to ensure consistency between assessments and to provide administrative support. You are informed of the composition of the panel before your interview.
Do I have the right to challenge members of the assessment panel?
Yes! You can confidentially challenge the proposed panel members if you believe that there may be a conflict in relation to your application. You simply need to contact the Registrations Advisor outlining the area of conflict.
Do I need to have a clinically focused Master’s degree to apply for registration as a Nurse Practitioner?
No! It is not necessary to have a clinically focused Master’s degree. If you have a Master’s degree which is not approved by the Nursing Council as a clinically focused Master’s degree, you need to demonstrate through your application that you are applying advanced nursing knowledge to your practice.
What advice would you give to assist me in preparing for the interview?
Think about the members of the interview panel and what perspective they will be coming from. They will be looking for congruence between what is written and what is said.
Identify any areas in your portfolio where the evidence is less robust and concentrate your energies there. Anticipate questions around each competency and indicator. Many applicants prepare a presentation for the panel assessment, however this is not mandatory.
The panel will want to know that you possess the required level of advanced knowledge and skill as well as understanding the boundaries and limitations to nursing judgment within your scope of practice as a NP. They will present you with at least one clinical viva (usually two) and they will ask you to discuss and describe your assessment and decision-making.
They will want to know that you are using a rigorous process of differential diagnostic reasoning and that you utilise appropriate consultation or referral processes. The need for you to articulate your diagnostic enquiry process and your ability to make differential diagnoses cannot be over emphasised.
A consumer may be interested in your ability to listen, communicate and advocate as a partner in health care. This needs to be demonstrated.
Practice, practice, practice. Use a mentor or trusted colleagues to listen to your answers. Get a coach and seek constructive comment on how you present and answer questions.
Can I take a support person?
Yes! The role of the support person is support during the interview process, rather than taking an active role within the interview. The support person would generally be someone with whom you have a professional relationship, and who understands your area of practice but they do not necessarily need to be practising within the same area of practice.
The support person is usually given the opportunity to speak briefly to the panel at the end of the interview however, if you would specifically like your support person to address the panel as a referee, it is necessary to formally ask the Nursing Council prior to the interview.
What advice would you give me if I was to have a site visit?
Not to panic. The addition of the site visit to the assessment process is not designed to catch you out but to enable the representatives of the assessment panel (and it won’t be the entire assessment panel) to gain an idea of your actual practice.
You will be formally advised by the Nursing Council who is performing the site visit assessment, which competencies require further assessment, what evidence is being sought, and with whom the panel members wish to meet.
Once you have this information you will you need to speak with your Director of Nursing or Professional Nursing Advisor so that they can liaise with Nursing Council. You have the right to refuse a site visit. If you decide to do this, however, it would be necessary to provide alternative options to the Nursing Council so they can meet the necessary criteria of the assessment panel.
What are useful websites and references?
The following are useful references and websites:
Author: The Nurse Practitioner Advisory Committee of New Zealand (NPAC- NZ) – see www.nursepractitioner.org.nz for contact details.
Last Update: 2009.