Journal of Pediatric Health CareBreaking Silos in Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Education: Virtual Case Collaboration Between Primary and Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Students

⚠️ Small Study / Early Comparative Evidence

A virtual case initiative brought acute and primary care pediatric NP students together to examine clinical reasoning across care settings. Seven students presented cardiovascular and neurologic cases with peer, faculty, and specialty NP discussion. Survey respondents described greater understanding of cross-setting care, but only four students completed the evaluation, limiting conclusions about educational effectiveness.

Learning Considerations

• Students compared the same clinical problems across acute and primary care, including differences in assessment, management, referral, and documentation.
• Virtual presentations combined individual case preparation with peer discussion, faculty debriefing, and specialty NP perspectives.
• All four survey respondents strongly agreed that the activity enhanced their understanding of inpatient and outpatient pediatric care.
• Learners particularly valued real-world presentations and exposure to how different PNP roles approached similar clinical problems.
• Outcomes were predominantly self-reported perceptions, without an objective pre/post assessment or comparator group.
• The four-person evaluation sample substantially limits conclusions about effectiveness and transferability.

Education Applications

• Consider cross-setting cases when educational objectives include differences between acute and primary care decision-making.
• Integrate comparison of assessment, documentation, referral, and management priorities into collaborative case discussions.
• Evaluate learner knowledge or skills objectively alongside satisfaction and confidence measures in future programs.
• Assess the model in larger cohorts before drawing conclusions about educational effectiveness or broader transferability.