Cardiothoracic Advanced Practice Provider: Going from Good to Great

L. DeGarmo
UT Health CV Surgery, Houston, Texas

Purpose: Identify the specific attributes that contribute to the excellence of an Advanced Practice Provider (APP) in the field of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Methods: Interviews with leading Cardiothoracic Surgeons across the country to identify the distinguishing characteristics that differentiate APPs from their peers. Each surgeon was asked to identify the three key attributes APPs who have consistently delivered exceptional care in your medical practice. The surgeons were able to clearly identify those characteristics and provide examples of their expectations and the attributes that they highly value.

Results: The most notable attributes identified were: exceptional communication skills, a strong sense of ownership, proactive approach, compassion towards patients and families, extensive knowledge, availability to physicians and the practice, collaborative team player, ability to enhance the practice with innovative and creative ideas, and making financial contributions to the practice. In addition, contextual examples were given to examine and measure these attributes for use in leadership positions and for physicians seeking to expand their practice.

Conclusion: The characteristics of an exceptional APP are instrumental in establishing standards, objectives, and creating tangible goals that can be used to validate compensation in the future, as well as when hiring and establishing a collaborative team.

Identify the source of the funding for this research project: n/a