For all you APRN's: NCSBN Board of Directors Endorses the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation: Licensure, Accreditation, & Certification: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

CHICAGO, IL--(MARKET WIRE)--Sep 15, 2008 -- The National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN®) Board of Directors endorsed the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation: Licensure, Accreditation, Certification & Education paper at their September 2008 meeting. The NCSBN Delegate Assembly adopted revised Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Model Act and Rules to parallel this model in August 2008.

As health care has evolved over the last few decades, APRNs have become a vital and integral part of patient care and management; however, because of a lack of uniformity across the nation, APRNs cannot easily move from state to state to practice. Each state independently determines the APRN legal scope of practice; the roles that are recognized; the criteria for entry into advanced practice; and the certification examinations accepted for entry-level competence assessment. Additionally, educational programs, certification agencies and accreditation agencies each face considerable differences within their own disciplines. This leads to practice barriers and decreased access to care for patients.


The result of a multiyear collaboration between NCSBN and the APRN Consensus Process Work Group, the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation: Licensure, Accreditation, Certification & Education document presents an APRN regulatory model created by APRN educators, accreditors, certifiers and licensure bodies, which establishes a set of standards that protect the public, improve mobility and expands access to safe, quality APRN care.
The paper defines APRN practice, describes the APRN regulatory model and presents strategies for implementation. The model recommends independent APRN practice; licensure at the role (certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified nurse-midwives, clinical nurse specialists and certified nurse practitioners) and population foci level; (family/individual across the lifespan, adult-gerontology, pediatrics, neonatal, women's health/gender-related or psych/mental health) and allows for the emergence of new APRN roles and population foci.

The complete text of the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation: Licensure, Accreditation, Certification & Education is posted at https://www.ncsbn.org/7_23_08_Consensue_APRN_Final.pdf. The APRN legislative language which parallels the Consensus Model can be found at https://www.ncsbn.org/APRN_leg_language_approved_8_08.pdf.
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) is a not-for-profit organization whose membership comprises the boards of nursing in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and four U.S. territories.