Educational Outcomes
The outcomes data from continuing education (CE) activities developed by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) provides valuable information on current clinical gaps and provides guidance for future AANP CE endeavors.
For all AANP-developed CE activities, the Education Department applies a conceptual framework for higher-level outcomes assessment, developed by Donald E. Moore Jr. of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. AANP CE activity outcomes are measured via a variety of methods — including pretests, post-tests, evaluations and post-activity impact surveys, as applicable — which allows AANP to quantify knowledge acquisition and confidence in learners from preactivity to post-activity. For clarity and consistency, AANP aligns with the Outcome Standardization Project’s definitions when reporting data.
Listed below are preliminary and final outcomes summaries from projects spanning a variety of therapeutic areas relevant to primary care and specialty nurse practitioners (NPs).
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Cardiology
Managing Heart Failure: Implications of Guideline Changes for Clinical Practice
Faculty: Leslie Davis, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FPCNA, FAHA, FAANP, and Mary Ellen Roberts, DNP, RN, APNC, FAAN, FAANP.
This live and on-demand activity was designed to inform NPs of patient selection criteria, dosing and practical considerations for use of valsartan/sacubitril, an angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI), and ivabradine, a sinoatrial node inhibitor. It also reinforced the use of Guideline Directed Medical Therapy and assisted the provider in devising strategies that promote treatment adherence.
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Dermatology
Injectable Cosmetic Treatments and the Nurse Practitioner: The Intersection of Patient Desires, Clinical Evidence and Professional Satisfaction
Faculty: Beth Haney, DNP, FNP-C, FAANP, and Heather Roebuck, DNP, FNP-BC, FAANP.
This enduring, audio-visual presentation provides the NP with strategies to identify appropriate candidates for nonsurgical cosmetic procedures and outline safety and efficacy considerations. Additionally, this activity featured video demonstrations of specific injection techniques on real patients.
Peeling Back the Layers: A Best-Practice Approach to Managing Atopic Dermatitis
Faculty: Margaret Bobonich DNP, FNP-C, DCNP, FAANP; Peggy Vernon RN, MA, CPNP, FAANP; and Susan Tofte BSN, MS, FNP-C
Peeling Back the Layers: A Best-Practice Approach to Managing Atopic Dermatitis, an AANP-accredited continuing education (CE) series funded by Pfizer, was presented as 10 live CE sessions between March and October 2019 by three nurse practitioner professionals with expertise in dermatology, then endured in the CE Center for 12 months. This unique activity utilized the graphic art of InfographEd to help explain key concepts and engage learners in case studies and content. Professionally analyzed by Derek Dietze of Metrics for Learning, positive results in each of the key objectives were realized.
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Endocrinology
Continuous Glucose Management: A Comprehensive Review for the Nurse Practitioner
Faculty: Kathryn Evans Kreider, DNP, FNP-BC, BC-ADM
Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) remains the standard for assessing glycemic control and predicting the risk of long-term complications, but it lacks utility in daily diabetes self-management. This development has contributed to the more efficacious patient self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG), which, in turn, supports improved self-management and medication adjustment. However, like HbA1c, SMBG is limited in that it measures glucose at a single point in time and provides no information regarding potentially pending hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. Now, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is helping patients move beyond finger sticks and glucometers However, despite the rapid evolution of CGM and the increasing amounts of data available to patients and clinicians, real-world clinical acceptance of CGM has been relatively modest. This educational activity navigated the NP through the CGM environment to assist them in making the best, evidence-based treatment options for their patients.
Diabetic Retinopathy: Meeting Patient Needs
Faculty: Debbie Hinnen, APN, BC-ADM, CDCES, FAAN, FADCES
Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is a microvascular complication of Diabetes that occurs when high blood glucose levels damage the retinal blood vessels. Ophthalmic vascular changes in patients with Diabetes can lead to substantial morbidity due to retinal damage, vision loss, and/or blindness. In this activity, Debbie Hinnen, APN, BC-ADM, CDCES, FAAN, FADCES, guides the learner through the criteria to identify patients at risk for DR, screening tools that are available in primary care, and strategies to partner with patients to reduce barriers to attending screening and treatment appointments with their eye specialist.
This activity was supported by an independent educational grant from Regeneron.
Improving Care and Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Nurse Practitioner-led Charge for Overcoming Insulin Inertia
Faculty: Frances M. Sahebzamani, PhD, ARNP, FAANP; Shannon Idzik, DNP, CRNP, FAANP, FAAN; Angela Thompson, DNP, FNP-C, BC-ADM, CDE, FAANP; Cammie L. Hauser, MSN, APRN, CNM, FNP-C; and Amy Burdette, PhD.
AANP and medical education partner Med-IQ developed a multiphase intervention designed to connect 18 NP-led practices with expert faculty mentors via a 30-minute, CE-accredited teleconference to coach them on best practices and actionable strategies to successfully overcome barriers related to intensification of therapy and selection of optimal insulin for patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM).
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Infectious Disease
A Case in the Life: COVID-19
Faculty: Paula Tucker, DNP, FNP-BC, ENP-C, FAANP, and Bob Smithing, MSN, FNP, ARNP, FAANP.
This activity was a three-part webinar series on COVID-19. Each webinar offered a PowerPoint presentation and a tracer case study that followed the patient from primary care to the emergency department and back to primary care. The live webinar activities were offered in July 2020, October 2020 and February 2021 and each included a question-and-answer (Q&A) session with the faculty. The activities were available on demand in the AANP CE Center for four to 10 weeks after the live presentation.
Updated Guidelines for HPV Vaccination: Preteens to Adults
Faculty: Ruth M. Carrico, PhD, DNP, APRN, CIC, FSHEA, FNAP, FAAN
Research models predict that Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination can prevent approximately 70% of cervical cancers, as well as the other HPV-associated cancers and genital warts in men and women. Yet vaccination rates fall well below the Healthy People 2030 objective of 80% vaccination coverage by age 13 to 15 for all sexes. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified vaccine hesitancy as one of the top ten threats to global health. Dr. Ruth Carrico, PhD, DNP, APRN, CIC guides the learner though the latest evidence-based guidelines for HPV vaccination and strategies to address vaccine hesitancy across the lifespan. The implementation of role playing case study vignettes help demonstrate patient vaccine counseling techniques.
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Nephrology
Advances in the Science of Chronic Kidney Disease-Associated Anemia: Primary Concerns for Healthcare Providers
Faculty: Timothy Ray, DNP, CNP, CNN-NP
Advances in the Science of Chronic Kidney Disease-Associated Anemia: Primary Concerns for Healthcare Providers, funded by AstraZeneca PLP, launched in the AANP CE Center on February 10, 2021. Despite an earlier than expected retirement of the program by the funder, 2,367 nurse practitioners (NPs) earned continuing education and pharmacology credit for this challenging topic. Learners were able to utilize interactive 3D graphics to better understand key concepts in renal metabolism and pharmacokinetics, with a 122% increase in knowledge pre to post and a potential positive impact of 31,983 patients per week, as reported by NPs who completed the activity and see patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).
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Neurology
The Role of CGRP in Migraine
Faculty: Calli Leigh Cook, DNP, APRN, FNP-C.
Migraine is a considerable cause of morbidity and health care resource utilization worldwide. More than 1 billion people suffer from migraine, resulting in 45.1 million years of life lived with disability in 2016 and making migraine the leading cause of disability among people younger than 50 years. Yet, despite the considerable disability and impairment associated with migraine, the disease continues to be underrecognized in clinical practice. Through two formats, interactive web-based and monograph, this activity was designed to give learners the tools and perspective they need to make confident decisions to successfully treat patients with migraine and overcome barriers that may impact patient outcomes.
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Obesity Management
Transforming Health Care for the Patient With Overweight and Obesity
Faculty: Angela Golden, DNP, FNP-C, FAANP, and Sandra Christensen, MSN, ARNP, FOMA.
The goal of this activity was to provide NPs with the most current, evidence-based information for the patient-centered management of obesity with an ultimate goal of improved health and quality of life for patients having overweight and obesity.
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Pain Management
Opioid Induced Constipation: Moving Your Patients in the Right Direction
Faculty: Vicki Morton, DNP, AGNP-BC
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), clinicians in the United States wrote 259 million prescriptions for pain medications in 2012, with approximately 4% of U.S. adults taking chronic opioid therapy, mainly for noncancer pain. Opiate analgesics are increasingly being recommended to patients to alleviate severe, acute noncancer pain and chronic, moderate-to-severe noncancer pain. Opioid-induced constipation (OIC) is the most common opioid-related adverse effect, affecting up to 70% of patients on long-term opioid therapy. OIC also has a significant impact on patient quality of life (QoL). Patients with OIC experience reduced work productivity, limitations on activities of daily living and social interactions, reductions in dietary choices, impairment of pain management and greater health care resource utilization. This interactive, on-demand activity provided NPs the information needed to navigate this complex environment to make the best evidence-based treatment options for their patients.
Safe Opioid Prescribing Series: How to Safely and Effectively Treat Pain in Primary Care
Faculty: Randall Hudspeth, PhD, MBA, MS, APRN-CNP/CNS, FRE, FAANP, NEA-BC, and Theresa Towle, DNP, FNP-BC, CNRN.
This on-demand educational intervention was designed to assist NPs in rural areas, private practice, or smaller settings not affiliated with larger organizations or health care systems who are not familiar with the current national treatment and prescribing guidelines. AANP jointly developed this activity with the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium under the Nurse Practitioner Support & Alignment Network (NP SAN), funded by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS).
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Psych and Mental Health
Major Depressive Disorder: Screening Strategies and Treatment Options for the Nurse Practitioner
Faculty: Brayden Kameg, DNP, PMHNP-BC, CARN, CNE
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common mental disorder in the United States, accounting for an average of 8 million ambulatory care visits per year. However, despite the morbidity and mortality associated with MDD and the considerable toll on productivity and quality of life, many patients are not appropriately screened for MDD, and they do not receive adequate treatment. Through a combination of live, case-based scenarios and didactic content, this activity was designed to provide the NP with valuable tools to care for patients with depression in the primary care setting.
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Pulmonary and Respiratory
Influenza Update and Review
Faculty: Ruth Carrico, PhD, DNP, APRN, CIC.
This enduring, audio-visual presentation provides the NP with education on preventing and treating influenza in the outpatient setting, including precision vaccination and current guidelines for antiviral treatment. Case studies aid the learner in applying the knowledge they have gained using real-life clinical scenarios, and whiteboard animation videos illustrate key information in an entertaining format.
This activity is available in the AANP CE Center until May 31, 2021.
Outcomes for Strategies to Facilitate Smoking Cessation (Final Report)
Faculty: Joelle Fathi, DNP, RN, ARNP, NCTTP
Dr. Fathi guides the learner through smoking cessation counseling and pharmacotherapy in this activity. Role playing vignette videos allow the learner to see counseling techniques applied to a case scenario.