Education of Advanced Practice Nurses for Emergency Care Settings: Emphasizing Shared Competencies and Domains

In a rapidly changing healthcare environment, the educational preparation for advanced practice nurses (APNs) to assume professional roles is ever-changing. Of note is that similarities as well as differences exist in the clinical competencies of clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) and nurse practitioners (NPs). Although accrediting agencies, regulatory agencies, and relevant professional organizations have proposed certain competencies, academicians need to participate more fully in the updating of these competencies, ensuring that these new competencies become an active part of curricula. The authors perceive that research assessing active CNS and NP practices focuses on institution-specific activities rather than the knowledge, skills, and behaviors taught in APN curricula. The perception of discrete areas of didactic and clinical expertise for CNSs and NPs may not be reflected in community practice. CNS and NP academic education and clinical competencies overlap in many areas such as pathophysiology, pharmacology, differential diagnosis, and patient care management, and as such, standardizing curricula in these areas makes sense. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the shared and unique competencies and domains of knowledge of CNSs and NPs in emergency care settings. Where the similarities exist, the authors propose that the curricula for CNSs and NPs might continue to be integrated in academic programs when feasible. They offer new domains for APN knowledge and practice in emergency care settings. Finally, the authors advocate for future competency validation mechanisms that are based on curricular content and nationally established competencies rather than on role delineation studies alone.