Nurse Practitioner Special Interest Groups: Effective or Not?

There is significant paucity of literature relating to nursing special interest groups, particularly at the advanced nursing level. How then is the effectiveness of such groups measured? This article discusses the action research project conducted with a nurse practitioner (NP) special interest group (SIG) in regional Victoria, Australia. The purpose of the research was to determine the effectiveness, if at all, of the NP SIG in meeting the members' needs. The results found the group to be very effective in supporting and mentoring NPs, providing a sense of collegiality for NPs from a diverse range of specialty areas.