Posted on February 25, 2014
Source: Newswise
HIV can’t tell a physician from a nurse practitioner. Neither can studies that look at patient outcomes for each group. In recognizing a need, plus a chance to improve HIV/AIDS care, the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) has turned these truths into a tremendous opportunity for students.
An innovative new curriculum at JHUSON, developed by Associate Professor Jason Farley, PhD, MPH, CRNP, FAAN, and recently approved by the Maryland Higher Education Commission, will launch in September as a specialized training option available within the Adult Geriatric Nurse Practitioner and MSN/MPH/AGNP programs.
“For many years these specialty training programs in HIV have been available for physicians,” Farley says. “This is the first time JHU is offering them to non-physician providers. It’s quite an important development. When you look at data comparing patient outcomes with physician care and with nurse practitioner care in HIV, whether in the United States or in sub-Saharan Africa, those outcomes are the same.”
One factor in those positive results, Farley says, is that nurse practitioners routinely spend more time with patients than physicians do: “In many studies, we see that patient-provider interactions are especially strong with nurse practitioners, and may result in improved adherence by patients to their treatment regimens.”
The development of the new HIV curriculum is being financed by a five-year, $1.5 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, the main federal agency tasked with improving health care access for the uninsured and otherwise underserved populations.
