The role of the nurse practitioner in congenital heart surgery.

Pediatric nurse practitioners are often members of the interdisciplinary team caring for children with congenital heart disease. The collaborative practice model, in which a physician-led team of physicians, nurse practitioners, and other clinicians work together to provide comprehensive, quality patient care, has had positive benefits for patients and their families, physicians, and nurses. The acute care pediatric nurse practitioner combines advanced training in assessment, diagnosis, and management of common pediatric health problems with advanced nursing expertise in patient education, counseling, and health promotion to meet the specialized needs of children with complex acute and chronic illnesses. This article focuses on the development and current practice of pediatric nurse practitioners in acute care settings and concludes with a discussion of the role of nurse practitioners on the postoperative cardiac surgery service at Children's Hospital, Boston.