Entrustables and Entrustment: Through the Looking Glass at the Clinical Making of a Nurse Practitioner

Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) formally address the supervision level required for nurse practitioner (NP) skills of students and fellows. Entrustment is the decision to entrust students and fellows with the responsibility to practice professional skills without direct supervision. EPAs offer the promise of consistency within and among NP programs about the expected skills of NP students and fellows and how and when they are acquired. EPAs highlight how and when the supervision and entrustment decisions are made. Their use in medical and graduate medical education suggests that EPAs would provide a common vocabulary among NP students, fellows, and physician colleagues.