Evidence-Based Practice Project

Integrating Telehealth Education into an FNP Program: A Curriculum Grounded in Evidence-Based Practice 

Leah Neugebauer, Samuel Breen (DNP Nursing Organizational Leadership), University of Mary, Bismarck, North Dakota 

Background: Telehealth has significantly transformed healthcare in recent years. It has been shown to bridge gaps in healthcare delivery and address other barriers to healthcare, such as the shortage of healthcare providers in primary care settings and the lack of transportation. Despite expectations that providers be proficient in telehealth delivery, many Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) programs do not include telehealth education in their curricula. 

PICO: In the University of Mary FNP program, how does integration of a standardized telehealth curriculum with competency-based student assessments, compared with existing curriculum practices, influence faculty satisfaction and student competency performance with telehealth education aligned with American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials and National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) Core Competencies? 

Project Interventions: Develop and implement a telehealth curriculum within the FNP program at the University of Mary. The curriculum was scaled over two semesters within the first year of the program. Faculty satisfaction and student competency were measured using mixed methods both throughout and following the implementation of the telehealth curriculum. 

Outcomes: Faculty satisfaction survey results demonstrated high levels of strong endorsement across all constructs, with mean scores of 5.00 for curriculum organization, training support, and delivery infrastructure, and 4.83 for instructional preparedness. Additionally, objective student performance data demonstrated that all students achieved the predefined competency benchmark for telehealth clinical performance. Student self-assessment survey results and reflective responses further supported these findings by indicating increased confidence and preparedness for telehealth practice. 

Conclusion: The findings suggest that integrating a standardized telehealth curriculum within the FNP program improved both faculty satisfaction and student competency while maintaining instructional sustainability.