Posted on July 29, 2014
Source: Johns Hopkins Nursing
HIV can’t tell physicians from nurse practitioners. Neither can studies that look at outcomes among patients treated by the two different groups. So, seeing an opportunity to innovate, the Hopkins School of Nursing developed a new HIV curriculum, launching in September as a specialized degree option within the Adult Geriatric Nurse Practitioner and MSN/MPH/AGNP programs. Those enrolled in these programs can earn an HIV Primary Care Certificate at the same time.
“For many years these specialty training programs in HIV have been available for physicians,” says Farley. “This is the first time we’re 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, 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 that results in improved adherence by patients to their treatment regimens.”
The development of the HIV curriculum track is being financed by a five-year, $1.5 million grant financed by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
