Timeline
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July 7, 2008
March 23, 2010
October 5, 2010
June 28, 2012
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
• Consensus Model
• Affordable Care Act
• IOM Future of
Nursing
• Supreme Court
Decision
APRN: The Next Generation
Certification and the Consensus Model
Diane L. Thompkins, MS, RN
Assistant Director Certification Services
April 20, 2013
APRN Consensus Model
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
APRN Regulation
• Licensure – grants authority to practice
• Accreditation – formal review and approval of
education program or certification entity in
nursing
• Certification – formal recognition of knowledge,
skills, and experience via testing
• Education – formal preparation of APRN in
graduate degree program
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
Vision for the Future of APRN Regulation
• Facilitate mobility across state lines
• Protect the public
• Uniformity of education, certification, and
licensure
• Accreditation and pre-approval of APRN
education programs including post-graduate
programs
• Consistency in APRN titles
• Independent APRN practice
• Increase access to care for patients
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
Barriers to Overcome
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No common definition for APRNs
Variety in APRN education
Regulation varied by state
Debates on scope of practice
Lack of uniformity in APRN titles
Specialization
Certification not required in all states
Barriers when crossing state lines
Lack of access to care for patients
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
The Future Is Now
• Increase the number of APRNs to meet patient
healthcare needs
• Improve patient access to safe, quality APRN
care
• Licensed as independent practitioners
• APRNs practice to the full extent of APRN
education and training (IOM Recommendation #1)
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
Certification Requirements
• Measure the core and role content on all certification
examinations
• Psychometrically sound examinations
• Hold national accreditation
• Legally defensible process to determine eligibility to test
• Enforce congruence between education and certification
• Establish mechanisms for ongoing competence and
certification maintenance
• Measure specialty competencies separately from APRN
core, role and population
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
APRN Core
• Advanced physiology/pathophysiology principles
that apply across the lifespan;
• Advanced health assessment, which includes
assessment of all human systems,
• Advanced pharmacology, which includes
pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and
pharmacotherapeutics of all broad categories of
agents.
• Minimum 500 clinical hours
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
Outcomes
• Independent practice is recognized for all roles.
• Congruence in APRN education, certification, and
licensure
• Role and title reflect educational preparation and
certification
• APRNs practice to the full extent of their education
and training (IOM, Recommendation #1)
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
APRN Consensus Model
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
LACE APRN Network
• LACE APRN Network
• http://www.APRNLACE.org
• A communication network that includes
organizations that represent the Licensure,
Accreditation, Certification, and Education
components of regulation.
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
Certification APRN Requirements
• Completed a nationally accredited graduate level program that
corresponds to the certification sought
• A minimum of 500 faculty-supervised clinical hours
• Three separate comprehensive graduate-level courses (the
APRN Core) in:
• advanced physiology/pathophysiology, including general principles that apply
across the lifespan;
• advanced health assessment, which includes assessment of all human
systems, advanced assessment techniques, concepts and approaches;
• advanced pharmacology, which includes pharmacodynamics,
pharmacokinetics and pharmacotherapeutics of all broad categories of
agents.
• Content in:
• health promotion and/or maintenance;
• differential diagnosis and disease management including the use and
prescription of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions.
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
APRN Certification
• Nurse Practitioner
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Adult-Gerontology Acute Care
Adult-Gerontology Primary Care
Family
Family Psychiatric-Mental Health (across the lifespan)
Pediatric Primary Care
Adult (accepting applications until 12.31.2014)
Acute Care (accepting applications until 12.31.2014)
Adult Psychiatric Mental-Health (accepting
applications until 12.31.2014)
• Gerontological (accepting applications until 12.31.2014)
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
APRN Certification
• Clinical Nurse Specialist
• Adult-Gerontology (wellness through acute care available April 2014)
• Pediatric (updated examination reflecting wellness through acute care
available April 2014)
• Adult (accepting applications until 12.31.2014)
• Adult Psychiatric-Mental Health (accepting
applications until 12.31.2014)
• Child/Adolescent Psychiatric Mental Health
(accepting applications until 12.31.2014)
• Gerontological (accepting applications until 12.31.2013)
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
Certification Key Points
• Apply and test before final degree
awarded
• Apply on-line
• Receive results on-site
• Certification review materials
• Test Content Outline
• Sample Test Questions
• Reference List
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
Congratulations
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
Resources
• Certification
• 800-284-2378
• http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Certification/
• Scope of Practice
• http://www.nursingworld.org/EspeciallyForYou/AdvancedPracticeNurses/
Scope-of-Practice-2
• APRN Consensus Model FAQs
• http://www.nursecredentialing.org/FunctionalCategory/FAQs/APRNFAQ.html
• APRNInfo@ana.org
• APRNFaculty@ana.org
• NP Competencies
• http://www.nonpf.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=14
• CNS Competencies
• http://www.nacns.org/html/competencies.php
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center
Questions
© 2012 American Nurses Credentialing Center