Developing Competency-Based Nursing Treatment for Persons With Tobacco Use Disorder

Background: Tobacco continues to have a deleterious impact on health outcomes in the United States. Professional nurses at all levels of practice have an opportunity to be a part of the solution. The development of nurse-specific competencies for treating tobacco use disorder (TUD) disorder is long overdue. A task force of American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) subject matter experts was assembled to engage in the process of reviewing the available peer-reviewed literature and additional evidence-based resources (e.g., professional organization position statement, toolkits, national survey results) to create the Nursing Competencies for Treating Tobacco Use Disorders. Objective: The aim of this article is ultimately to improve patient access to quality, evidence-based TUD nursing care by all nurses who are competent, full partners in TUD multidisciplinary care. Method: Search terms were defined and a scoping search and review of the TUD literature and resources was performed from November 2018 to November 2020. Results: Over 300 articles and evidence-based resources (e.g., professional organization position statements, toolkits, etc.) were discovered. Thirteen competencies were developed and were internally and externally reviewed prior to APNA Board of Director's approval. Conclusion: TUD competencies have the potential to guide nursing education, practice, and research, allowing nurses to be full partners in the design, development, and implementation of effective TUD treatment.