The Boston experience.
In April 2000, three nurses from Chesterfield (UK) were successful in an application for a travel scholarship. The scholarship was to examine emergency nurse practitioner (ENP) schemes in Boston USA after completion of my dissertation based on the same subject, in the course of which the broad span of ENP work had become obvious to me. Leading up to the trip overseas, we discussed specific objectives we hoped to meet but we did not expect the range of experiences we were exposed to within this busy city. It became apparent while in Boston, that we should avoid becoming too focused otherwise we might miss valuable information or experiences which would benefit practice back in the UK. Six of the most striking issues, which impressed all three of us, are covered in this paper. These are then reflected back to UK practice in an attempt to discover whether these experiences can benefit our own profession. Subjects covered include: student training; ENP training and role parameters; physician assistants; primary care and the effect of information technology on the emergency care culture.