Identifying competencies in advanced healthcare practice: an umbrella review

Abstract

The four pillars of advanced healthcare practice (AHCP) are clinical practice, leadership and management, education, and research. It is unclear, however; how competencies of AHCP as defined by individual health professions relate to these pillars. Addressing this knowledge gap will help to facilitate the operationalization of AHCP as a concept and help inform educational curricula. To identify existing competencies across AHCP literature and examine how they relate to the four pillars of a multi-professional AHCP framework. An umbrella review was conducted in accordance with JBI methodology. The electronic search for published and grey literature was completed using CINAHL, Scopus, Medline (OVID), Embase (OVID), ERIC (OVID) and Google. Secondary reviews and research syntheses of master level AHCP programs published after 1990 in either English or French were considered for inclusion and results were analyzed using a directed content analysis. Seventeen publications detailing 620 individual competencies were included. AHCP competencies were described across four professions and 22 countries, with many publications related to nursing and AHCP in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. Many retrieved competencies were found to map to the four pillars of AHCP, although clinical practice and leadership and management pillars were addressed more often. Competencies of AHCP are generally consistent with the four pillars. However, the distribution of competencies is unequal across pillars, professions, and geographical regions, which may provide direction for further research. Doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/KV2FD Published on March 07, 2023.

Keywords: Advanced healthcare practice; Competencies; Healthcare education; Master degree.