WASHINGTON, D.C., March 12, 1999 -- While enrollment in master’s-degree nurse practitioner programs grew by a slight 1 percent in fall 1998, graduations of new nurse practitioners rose by 15.8 percent, compared to the previous year, according to figures released by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF).

Moreover, more than half (60.8 percent) of master’s-degree students in nursing schools nationwide were pursuing study in nurse practitioner (NP) tracks in fall 1998. An identical percentage comprised master’s-degree nursing students who graduated from NP programs between August 1997 and July 1998, the AACN / NONPF study reports. Both represent robust increases from 1994, when 40.2 percent of master’s-degree nursing students and 28.6 percent of master’s graduates in nursing were NP majors, according to an AACN survey.

The study, part of AACN’s latest annual report on enrollments and graduations in nursing education programs at universities and four-year colleges, is the first to include nurse practitioner data collected and reported jointly by AACN and NONPF in a collaboration inaugurated last year. The partnership is aimed at supporting health workforce planning by creating a single and most complete repository of data on nurse practitioner education in the U.S.

Nationwide, of the 358 institutions offering master’s-degree programs in nursing, 312 (87 percent) offered nurse practitioner or post-master’s NP programs in fall 1998. The AACN / NONPF survey reflects responses from 279 (89.4 percent) of schools with master’s-level or post-master’s NP programs. The report includes data on enrollments and graduations in post-basic RN certificate programs, as well as in programs where NP and clinical nurse specialist (CNS) roles are merged in the curriculum.

Two-year changes in enrollments and graduations, respectively, are based on responses from a matched set of 306 and 304 schools reporting in both 1997 and 1998.

“As policymakers work to control costs and give Americans wider access to affordable, basic health care, planners are turning more to nurse practitioners -- advanced registered nurses with primary-care and acute-care skills -- to deliver high quality, front-line health services in an array of settings throughout the community. The steady growth in nurse practitioner enrollments is a direct response to this escalating need,” says AACN President Andrea R. Lindell, DNSc, RN.

“Nurse practitioners have the ability to fill emerging roles in the health care marketplace, with graduates exhibiting increased flexibility by the range of specialties they enter. As predicted in the early days of the profession, the nurse practitioner role spans a wide variety of settings,” says NONPF President Christine Boodley, PhD, RN, FNP.

Family Practice Leads Specialties, but Part-Time Study Continues to Dominate

Despite the slight gain in master’s-degree NP enrollments in fall 1998, the majority of NP students continue to attend part-time. Compared to the previous year, full-time enrollments in master’s-level NP programs fell by 1.0 percent in fall 1998 while the number of part-time students grew by 1.6 percent. Such developments remain a prime concern to educators, who note that part-time study significantly delays production of new nurse practitioners for a health care system in accelerating demand.

As in previous years, family, adult, and pediatric NP majors comprised the largest percentages of the 19,607 master’s students enrolled in NP and combined NP / CNS programs in fall 1998, at 52 percent, 17.8 percent, and 8.9 percent, respectively. Those three specialties also accounted for the largest percentage of the 6,488 new nurse practitioner graduates (51.8 percent, 17 percent, and 10.5 percent, respectively) from master’s-degree programs between August 1997 and July 1998. Among other NP specialties that led enrollments were adult acute care (5.6 percent), women’s health (3.5 percent), gerontological care (3.4 percent), psychiatric/mental health (3.0 percent), neonatal care (1.2 percent), oncology (0.6 percent), and school NP (0.2 percent).

Of the 2,233 NP students enrolled in post-master’s certificate programs, 48.9 percent were enrolled in family NP tracks, followed by adult health (22.5 percent) and pediatric care (7.1 percent) programs. Post-master’s certificate programs accounted for 10 percent of enrollments and 18 percent of graduates in NP education in 1998, the AACN / NONPF survey reported.

Job Commitments Show Regional Differences

Responding schools estimated that an average of 82.3 percent of graduates at master’s-degree and post-master’s NP programs had employment commitments upon graduation between August 1997 and July 1998. Job commitments were strongest in the Midwest, where 76.6 percent of schools reported that more than three-quarters of their graduates had jobs waiting, compared to programs in Southern (71.6 percent), North Atlantic (68.1 percent), and Western states (65.4 percent).

Although 63.4 percent of schools with master’s-level NP programs cited lack of seats as a reason for not accepting all qualified applicants, 53.7 percent named an insufficient number of clinical training sites, followed by an insufficient number of faculty (39 percent) and too few clinical staff to serve as on-site preceptors for students (31.7 percent). “Even with recent enrollment growth, schools continue to encounter significant constraints in their ability to supply nurse practitioners for a health system increasingly in need of the high-quality and documented cost-effectiveness of NP care for a variety of settings,” says Dr. Lindell. “In particular, as front-line primary care grows more dominant, the need for continued and vigorous federal support for graduate-level clinical training of nurse practitioners and other advanced practice nurses has never been more vital.”

Copies of the AACN report, 1998-1999 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing, are available for $35.00 each (postage included), prepaid orders only, from AACN, 1 Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 530, Washington, DC 20036; (202) 463-6930, or can be ordered here online.

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. Web site: http://www.aacn.nche.edu

The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties is dedicated to providing leadership in promoting quality nurse practitioner education. Inherent in that commitment is the goal of establishing standards of quality and developing instructional skills and scientific investigation in nurse practitioner education. Through these and other related initiatives, NONPF strives to serve the public interest by assuring the preparation of highly qualified health care professionals.

EDITORS: News media may obtain a copy of the survey report by contacting the AACN Office of Public Affairs at 202-463-6930, x231 or rrosseter@aacn.nche.edu.

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CONTACT: Robert Rosseter
(202) 463-6930, x231
rrosseter@aacn.nche.edu

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