Date
2-29-2024
Department
School of Nursing
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Chair
Cynthia Goodrich
Keywords
nurse practitioner, advanced practice nurse, tactical combat casualty course, self-efficacy
Disciplines
Nursing
Recommended Citation
Wamack, Gregory S., "Improving Self-Efficacy in Flight Nurse Practitioners in Preparation for the Role of the Law Enforcement Tactical Nurse Practitioner" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5226.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5226
Abstract
Current evidence demonstrates that the number of prehospital nurse practitioners working in both civilian and military settings is growing. Additional training beyond the formal nurse practitioner curriculum is necessary to increase the self-efficacy, knowledge, and skills of the nurse practitioner for operational battlefield conditions in far-forward austere and tactical settings. Evidence also demonstrates that the Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TC3) course is the national standard for tactical care and training for all health care providers. The purpose of this evidence-based pilot study was to increase the tactical self-efficacy of the United States based nontactical civilian highly trained and skilled flight nurse practitioners (FNPs). The preselected FNPs completed a TC3 course to increase their self-efficacy in their tactical knowledge, ability, and skills through a combination of formal (didactic), informal (vicarious), and physiological conditioning (scenario-based) positive verbal or written reinforcement/reassurance as theorized by Albert Bandura. Increasing the tactical self-efficacy of the FNPs helped prepare them to assume the role of the law enforcement tactical nurse practitioner in support of a metropolitan police department special weapons and tactics team. A general self-efficacy scale was administered pre- and post-course to the preselected group of FNPs, and data were compared and analyzed using two-tailed paired t tests. Clinical relevance was identified in the fact that tactical self-efficacy was increased in all participants, and a statistically significant increase in tactical self-efficacy was seen in fifty percent of the preselected FNPs. Results were disseminated to key stakeholders initially and then were considered for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
