Evaluation of Nurse Practitioners Enrolled in Fellowship and Residency Programs: Methods and Trends

• Guidelines for postgraduate nurse practitioner (NP) education are lacking in nursing literature.
• Consensus is needed regarding the theoretical framework of the evaluation methods used.
• Capturing participant capability is an important aspect of strong evaluation.
• E-portfolios are useful tools to document progress of NP participants.
• Postgraduation NP program leaders are encouraged to publish current program design.

The Institute of Medicine's The Future of Nursing report called for expansion of postgraduate training programs for nurse practitioners. Using systematic methods, a literature review was performed, which revealed that publications on postgraduate training program design, guidelines, and methods are limited. There is a crucial need for consensus regarding the definitions, theoretical framework, and appropriate evaluation methods to assess the competency and capability of postgraduate nurse practitioners. The growth of residency and fellowship programs warrants critical investigation and dissemination of methods used by postgraduate training educators in order to support transition to practice and ensure the development of strong practitioners.