Date of Conferral

5-8-2025

Date of Award

May 2025

Degree

Doctor of Healthcare Administration (D.H.A.)

School

Management

Advisor

Miriam Ross

Abstract

Physician shortages in North Carolina rural counties are a problem that continues to affect patient care, which has necessitated the need to use other disciplines such as nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs). The purpose and review question for this integrative review focused on determining best practices for utilizing PAs and NPs in rural clinics and how these staffing options could improve health outcomes. The administrative management theory served as the framework for this project by emphasizing the functions of planning, organizing, coordinating, and teamwork. A search of both empirical and nonempirical literature for years 2019 through 2024 was done to obtain articles that would meet the requirements of this study. The search yielded a total of 83 articles, and 26 were chosen for further analysis. The analysis determined six main themes: benefits of using PAs/NPs, human resources strategies for NP/PA recruitment, community analysis to improve quality of life (QOL), telehealth use in rural clinics, program analysis to identify access barriers, and strengthening job satisfaction in rural clinics. Subthemes were also a vital part of this project, and they consisted of the following 12 topics: connections with schools to attract NPs and PAs, retention strategies for retaining NPs and PAs, financial incentives, QOL incentives, connecting with community organizations, connecting with local government organizations, staff and patent education, equipment needs for patients, maintaining and recruiting staff, connections to healthcare organizations, work environment and teamwork, and positive leadership roles and communication. Results and recommendations focused on improving patient care and thereby promoting positive social change through the increase of NPs and PAs in rural clinics.

Download

Share

 
COinS