A Database for Nurse Practitioner Clinical Education

In June 2002, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convened a Health Professions Education summit to develop a vision and position on the competencies needed by healthcare providers in a 21st century healthcare system. The results of the summit are published in a book, Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality. The vision espoused is that ‘‘All health professionals should be educated to deliver patient-centered care as members of an interdisciplinary team, emphasizing evidence-based practice, quality improvement approaches, and informatics’’ The IOM suggests that to meet the needs of a 21st century healthcare system, all clinicians, regardless of their discipline, need to master a recommended set of core competencies. Competencies were defined as ‘‘habitual and judicious use of communication, knowledge, technical skills, clinical reasoning, emotions, values, and reflection in daily practice.’’ The competencies and associated aspects of each are listed below: