Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects
Access Control
Open Access
Degree Program
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Degree Track
Family Nurse Practioner
Year Degree Awarded
2023
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/34953228
Month Degree Awarded
February
Advisor
Dr. Pamela Aselton
Abstract
Background: Primary care providers (PCPs) commonly refer adult acne patients to dermatology due to lack of confidence in treatment initiation and maintenance, resulting in delayed patient care, limited access to dermatology appointments, and an ongoing knowledge gap within the primary care setting. Purpose: To support PCPs with acne diagnosis and treatment recommendations by hosting acne education sessions and implementing an Acne Management SmartSet for acne treatment. Methods: The DNP student held acne education sessions during staff meetings at two primary care sites, then disseminated surveys to participants to determine if the education session and SmartSet were clinically useful. Data pertaining to the frequency of SmartSet use and number of e-consult and in-person referrals to dermatology for acne was collected over a three-month period and analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results: There was a 52% reduction in e-consults made to dermatology for acne management. There were zero in-person acne referrals made to dermatology generated from the SmartSet. 100% of responding PCPs valued the collaborative efforts with dermatology demonstrated by this project. Nursing Implications/Conclusion: The coupling of acne education and a decision-support tool may be useful to correct inefficient acne patient workflows between PCPs and dermatologists. Future extensions include collaboration between PCPs and dermatologists for other common dermatologic conditions, such as eczema, topical steroid use, and psoriasis.
Keywords: primary care providers, acne treatment, SmartSet
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.