Date of Award

Summer 2022

Document Type

Project – Full Written

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Committee Chair

Gayle Casterline

Abstract

Many adult and adolescent patients in primary care settings are diagnosed with primary hypertension, however the workup often does not include an evaluation of secondary causes. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to improve the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension for patients seeking health care in a retail clinic setting. The PICOT question was, what is the effect of an educational offering on hypertension standards of care in enhancing knowledge and confidence for providers working in a retail health clinic setting? The sampling frame was 40 Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants employed at CVS Minute Clinic in Region 38, North Carolina. A 60-minute PowerPoint presentation was developed by the project leader on guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of primary and secondary hypertension. Provider knowledge and confidence levels (dependent variables) were measured pre- and post-education using an authorcreated tool using valid questions from the literature. Nine providers (22.5%) completed the pre-survey and only one provider completed the post-survey. Pre-survey results revealed knowledge deficits in using current standards and guidelines for the diagnosis and long-term treatment of primary and secondary hypertension. Providers reported being only moderately confident (33%) and somewhat confident (67%) in their ability to diagnose and treat hypertension and secondary hypertension. These findings are congruent with the literature and with Orem’s concept of nursing agency. Nursing agencies can be promoted through comprehensive provider education and additional time and resources for nurse practitioners and physician assistants working in retail clinic 4 settings. The use of best practice standards will enhance hypertensive care for the community.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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Nursing Commons

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