U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services Publishes New
Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Competencies
NONPF-AACN
Partnership Yields Consensus-Based NP Competencies
WASHINGTON,
D.C., November 14, 2002 - The federal Division of Nursing,
a branch of the Health Resources and Services Administration
(HRSA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
recently published a new set of primary care competencies
for entry-level nurse practitioners (NP) in five practice
areas. This publication, titled Nurse Practitioner Primary
Care Competencies in Specialty Areas: Adult, Family, Gerontological,
Pediatric, and Women's Health, is the result of a partnership
between the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner
Faculties (NONPF) and the American Association of Colleges
of Nursing (AACN) in collaboration with leaders in nursing
practice, education, credentialing, and accreditation.
"These
competencies set the national standard for guiding the specialty
content of nurse practitioner program development in five
primary care areas," said NONPF Project Director M.
Katherine Crabtree, DNSc, APRN, BC. "This collaborative
work provides a model for the future development of competencies
for other specialty-focused nurse practitioner roles as
well."
NONPF and AACN directed this federally-funded project to
develop national, consensus-based nurse practitioner competencies
in five common specialties. The core skill mix for nurse
practitioner graduates builds upon nursing knowledge and
requires graduate education to achieve an advanced level
of nursing practice. These specialty competencies build
on a set of core competencies that pertain to all NP specialties
and focus on diagnosis and management content appropriate
to the population served, clinical practice, and the role
emphasis within the specialty area. The project was undertaken
to lay the foundation for identification of competencies
in all areas of nurse practitioner primary care practice
and to promote high quality and consistency in educational
programs.
"These
new competencies set the gold standard for maintaining and
shaping quality nursing education programs at the graduate
level," said AACN President Kathleen Ann Long, PhD,
RNCS, FAAN. "These specialty competencies offer potential
employers, consumers, and students a clear set of expectations
regarding the entry-level nurse practitioner role and the
primary areas of specialty practice."
Nurse
practitioner competencies were identified by a national
panel including organizations that represent the five specialty
areas (Adult, Family, Gerontological, Pediatric, and Women's
Health), as well as credentialing and certifying agencies.
A validation panel composed of leaders from nursing practice,
education and accreditation organizations confirmed the
relevance of the national panel's work.
This
publication has been distributed to all colleges and universities
around the country with nurse practitioner programs, as
well as individual faculty in these programs. The publication
is also available on the Internet. To order free copies
of the printed report, contact the HRSA clearinghouse at
1-888-ASK-HRSA. To access the report via the Web, see AACN's
Web site at http://www.aacn.nche.edu or NONPF's Web site
at http://www.nonpf.com.
The
National Organization of Nurse Practitioner
Faculties provides leadership in promoting quality nurse
practitioner education at the national and international
levels. Through the support of the development of instructional
skills and scientific investigation in nurse practitioner
education, NONPF serves the public interest by assuring
the preparation of highly qualified health care professionals.
Since its founding in 1976, NONPF has grown into a strong
organization representing over 1,100 faculty members at
institutions from across the country.
The American Association of
Colleges of Nursing is
the national voice for university and four-year-college
education programs in nursing. Representing more than 580
member schools of nursing at public and private institutions
nationwide, AACN's educational, research, governmental advocacy,
data collection, publications, and other programs work to
establish quality standards for bachelor's- and graduate-degree
nursing education, assist deans and directors to implement
those standards, influence the nursing profession to improve
health care, and promote public support of baccalaureate
and graduate nursing education, research, and practice.
###
CONTACT: Robert Rosseter
(202) 463-6930, x231
rrosseter@aacn.nche.edu
CONTACT: Kitty Werner
(202) 289-8044
nonpf@nonpf.org
