The Nursing Professional Development (NPD) practitioner is a registered nurse that exercises the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that reflects NPD practice judgment and expertise to influence professional role competence and growth of learners in a variety of settings. The NPD practitioner collaborates with the interprofessional healthcare team, stakeholders, and the learner with the desired outcome for improved population health. The NPD practitioner is responsible for applying knowledge and skills detailed in the Scope and Standards of NPD practice guided by the Nursing Professional Development Model. In addition, the NPD practitioner will support the organizational and nursing strategic plan by helping ensure goals and priorities align with patient care, staff needs, and organizational objectives to guide decision making and priority setting.

Essential Job Functions
• Learning Facilitator: Uses the educational design process and adult learning principles to bridge identified gaps in knowledge, skills, and/or practice.(Maloney & Harper, 2022)
Gaps are identified through a variety of means (examples include environmental scanning, learning needs assessments, quality outcomes.)
Is an expert in and a resource in the process of designing education.
• Change Agent: Advocates for process change at all levels using change management strategies and theories.(Maloney & Harper, 2022)
Supports the adaptation of new behaviors and processes in practice to drive desired outcomes.
• Mentor: Advances the nursing profession and the NPD specialty by contributing to the professional development of others and supporting ongoing learning as individuals develop across practice, professional, and educational settings.
• Leader: Influences the interprofessional practice and learning environments, the NPD specialty, the profession of nursing, and healthcare through creative problem solving and innovation.(Maloney & Harper, 2022)
• Champion for scientific inquiry: Promotes the generation and dissemination of new knowledge and the use of evidence to advance NPD practice, guide clinical practice, and improve the quality of care for the healthcare consumer/partner. (Maloney & Harper, 2022)
• Advocate for NPD specialty: Supports, promotes, and demonstrates nursing professional development as a nursing practice specialty. (Maloney & Harper, 2022)
• Partner for practice transitions: Supports the transition of nurses and other healthcare personnel across learning and practice environments, roles, and professional stages (examples include transition to practice programs for new graduates, advanced practitioners, or transitioning into a new clinical practice area.)
Evaluates nursing practice and identifies opportunities for modification that would enhance professional practice, maintain/improve patient care while remaining fiscally sound.
• Onboarding/Orientation: Develops, coordinates, manages, facilitates, conducts, and evaluates clinical onboarding/orientation programs focused on retention and growth for nursing and other healthcare personnel.
• Competency Management: Demonstrates expertise in competency management by accepting responsibility for measuring, documenting, and supporting the competency process through assessing, developing, coordinating, managing, facilitating, conducting, and evaluating competency continuums to address staff and team performance. (Maloney & Harper, 2022)
• Education: Uses the education design process for planning, implementing, coordinating, and evaluating educational activities that address gaps in knowledge, skills, and/or practice for the target audience to achieve specific outcomes.
Continuing nursing education - supports awarded continuing education contact hours based on the regulations and standards of the accrediting body.
Interprofessional continuing education - promotes collaboration with other healthcare professionals to design, manage, implement, coordinate, and evaluate education when appropriate.
• Role Development: Assists staff by coaching, coordinating, facilitating, conducting, and evaluating activities to navigate role transitions, role integration, skill acquisition, and succession planning (examples include the RN becoming a preceptor, charge nurse, leader, or joining a transition to practice program.)
• Collaborative Partnerships: Seeks internal and external collaboration for opportunities to teach, coordinate, serve as liaison, and/or advise nurses and other learners regarding education and learning (examples include working with other healthcare/leadership professionals, community partners, emergency medical services, public health departments, disaster management services, academic partnerships.) (Maloney & Harper, 2022)
• Inquiry: Promotes and applies professional curiosity using research, evidence-based practice, and quality improvement initiatives to discover, teach, practice, and integrate the best available evidence to transform healthcare delivery and outcomes. (AACN, 2019, p.3)
• Personal Professional Role Competence and Growth:
Demonstrates competence in knowledge, skills, and practice as outlined in the Nursing Professional Development Scope & Standards of Practice.
Identifies personal needs and sets goals for own growth and development in collaboration with department manager.