Ações com potencial para enfermagem de prática avançada no Sul de Minas Gerais

Abstract

An advanced practice nurse is one who has acquired a specialized knowledge base, who has the ability to make complex decisions, and who possesses clinical skills and competencies for expanded practice, whose characteristics are shaped by their context and the country of origin in which they are accredited to act. The study aimed to analyze actions with potential for Advanced Practice Nursing implemented by nurses working in the south of Minas Gerais, based on the guidelines of the International Council of Nurses. This is a descriptive, cross- sectional study, with a quantitative methodological approach and a non-probabilistic snowballsample. An authorial questionnaire on the professional characteristics of nurses was used. It also included questions related to the experience of these professionals in relation to Advanced Practice Nursing. The aforementioned form was sent online via the Google Forms® platform, with dissemination over the internet, through messaging applications and social networks. The data were statistically analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program. 140 nurses working in the south of Minas Gerais participated in the study, the majority of whom were female at birth (90%). The age range ranged from 23 to 66 years old, the majority were white (74.28%) and married (54.29%). Regarding training time, it ranged from one to 44 years. The majority of nurses (82.86%) stated that they had a postgraduate degree, with Family Health being the highlight among the respondents, however 61 (44.58%) of them had a longer professional experience in hospital/specialized care. It was found that the concept of Advanced Practice Nursing is still not widely understood among nurses working in the southern region of Minas Gerais. In the questionnaire, Advanced Practice Nursing actions were listed based on the guidelines of the International Council of Nurses, divided into two domains: care and management/education. In the care domain, it was observed that the majority (65.71%) of interviewees reported carrying out activities such as evaluating wounds and prescribing dressings, along with referring patients to other services or professionals (57.14%). In the context of management/education, the most prominent activity was participation in meetings to develop and implement risk and damage prevention protocols (50%), followed by acting as human resources trainers through continuing education (44, 29%). Therefore, it was evident that the majority of participants demonstrated a lack of knowledge regarding the specific actions performed by advanced practice nurses, which reveals a gap in understanding this professional role. The results highlight the need to understand the capabilities and potential of advanced practice nurses. This understanding can positively affect the creation and adaptation of public health policies that recognize and take advantage of these skills, which can be particularly beneficial in locations where it is necessary to optimize the role of nurses and improve access to health care.