Preparation, Roles, and Perceived Effectiveness of Unlicensed Assistive Personnel

The use of unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) in hospitals has increased over the last 20 years. In lieu of regulation of UAP by boards of nursing, many health care agencies and organizations have developed their own educational standards, role definitions, and scopes of practice for UAP in acute care. The purpose of this study was to explore how UAP are used in acute care settings and how their work is perceived by nurses who work with them and by themselves. The results of this mixed method design study showed many similarities among UAP titling; however, there were substantial variations in educational preparation and use of UAP, especially as they move into advanced or specialty areas. Nevertheless, both registered nurses and UAP perceive the work of UAP to be highly effective. Additional collaborative research by regulatory and health care agencies is recommended. This research should be used to inform the development of regulations for educational preparation and utilization of these providers.