The deployment of advanced practice nurses in the French health system: From clinics to professional networks

Abstract Aim The aim of this study is to contribute to an understanding of the role deployment of advanced practice nurses (APNs) in French healthcare settings. Introduction The introduction of APNs was formalised in France by the decrees issued on 18 July 2018, which described the areas, activities and training of APNs. Background A qualitative study on the role implementation of APNs was conducted between July 2021 and May 2022 following a call for projects launched by the Île‐de‐France Regional Health Agency to evaluate the deployment of APNs in the area. Methods Data were collected through field observations and semi‐structured interviews in order to explore both the APNs deployment processes in nine healthcare structures and the roles played by APN networks and associations with regard to the deployment of APN activities in their working environments. Results The projects proved to be evolutionary, and their development was marked by various forms of APN isolation and multiple obstacles that were specific to their professional practice settings. Some APNs relied on a variety of forms of mutual assistance and advocacy deployed throughout APN networks and associations. Discussion The deployment of APNs' role was impacted by diverse configurations of professional power relations and the nature of the obstacles that were structural for APNs in primary care. Their experience of isolation derived from the novelty of their role, the challenge they posed to the cohesion of the nursing profession and a lack of supportive policies for their deployment. Their participation in APN networks and associations enabled them to access advocacy and manage the uncertainties and unknowns related to the deployment of their activities. Conclusion The results suggest that the formalisation of schemes for mutual assistance among APNs and advocacy should be integrated into the guidelines for the implementation of their role. Implications for nursing policy APN policy should strengthen a bottom‐up approach, relying in particular on the development of different forms of collaboration and communication between APN networks and associations on the one hand and the public authorities on the other.