Reinforcing Telehealth Competence Through Nurse Practitioner Student Clinical Experiences

Background: Telehealth is becoming increasingly integral in providing improved access to care, especially for patients who reside in frontier and rural areas. Nurse practitioner (NP) faculty are charged with preparing NP students through curriculum and clinical experiences that align with the health care environment and the health care access needs of the populations they serve. Method: To meet this need, NP faculty at a land-grant university located in a frontier and rural midwestern state reinforced NP student telehealth curriculum and competency through application in a clinical environment. Results: Participants included 22 family NP (FNP) students and 19 clinical preceptors. According to the evaluations, the FNP students met seven of the eight competency criteria, and the preceptors met eight of the 13 evaluation criteria. Conclusion: Outcomes indicate telehealth curriculum competency can be reinforced through application in a clinical setting to prepare NP students to meet the needs of patients and changing health care environments.