Certification and regulation of advanced practice nurses

The nursing profession must develop a standardized national advanced practice nursing certification process by the year 2000. "Advanced practice nurse" is an umbrella term appropriate for a licensed registered nurse prepared at the graduate-degree level as either a clinical specialist nurse anesthetist, nurse-midwife, or nurse practitioner Advanced practice nurses are professionals with specialized knowledge and skills that are applied within a broad range of patient populations in a variety of practice settings (Table 1). All advanced practice nurses should hold a graduate degree in nursing and be certified. Each existing and future professional nursing specialty-certifying entity must meet uniform national standards when certifying nurses for advanced practice. Those standard would be developed and administered try a separate organization such as the American Board of Nursing Specialties. Professional certification validates and standardizes the qualifications and practice competencies of the advanced practice nurse and is the appropriate mechanism by which the public's health and safety can be protected. There are nurses prepared at the advanced level who have roles as administrators and educators. This position statement does not address those individuals. Rather, it focuses on nurses prepared for roles as direct care providers.