J Hosp Palliat Nurs
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J Hosp Palliat Nurs · Aug 2018
The Hospice and Palliative Care Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Workforce: Results of a National Survey.
One barrier to continued growth of palliative care is the shortage of qualified hospice and palliative care clinicians. Advanced practice registered nurses are an important part of the interdisciplinary palliative care team, and strengthening this workforce can help alleviate the shortage of clinicians and improve access to quality palliative care. However, there is a dearth of information about this workforce. ⋯ Forty-one percent indicated that their traditional graduate educational preparation was insufficient in preparing them for their specialty role. Most indicated that they did not experience barriers to practice in their current position, but 7.3% identified significant issues. These results can inform future professional, educational, and regulatory efforts to support and develop the palliative care advanced practice registered nurse workforce.