Comparison of ICMSN Mission/Goals, Student Outcomes and Related Competencies,
and ANA Standards of Professional Performance for the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse
ICMSN MISSION/GOALS
Student Outcomes
Related Competencies
ANA Standards of Professional
Performance for the Advanced
Practice Registered Nurse
Provision of curricula which
Possesses a background
Standard 8
1. Integrates nursing and related sciences into the
fosters a
for practice from sciences
Education: The graduate-level
delivery of advanced nursing care to diverse
background for practice from
and humanities
populations
prepared specialty nurse or the
sciences and
Graduates recognize the
2. Incorporates current and emerging
advanced practice registered nurse:
humanities,
need
for
integration
of
genetic/genomic
evidence
in
providing
advanced
 Uses current healthcare
organizational and
scientific findings from
nursing care to individuals, families and
research findings and other
systems leadership,
nursing, biopsychosocial
communities while considering patient values and
evidence to expand clinical
concern for quality
improvement and safety,
fields, genetics, public health,
clinical judgment
knowledge, skills, abilities, and
translation and integration of
quality improvement, and
3. Designs nursing care for a student or patient/family
judgment, to enhance role
scholarship into practice, use
organizational sciences to
population based on biopsychosocial, public
performance, and to increase
of informatics and
enhance the continual
health, nursing and organizational sciences
knowledge of professional
healthcare technologies,
improvement of nursing care
4. Applies ethical analysis and clinical reasoning to
issues.
advocacy for health policy to
across diverse settings.
assess, intervene, and evaluate advanced nursing
improve care, intercare delivery
professional
collaboration for
5. Synthesizes evidence for practice to determine
improving patient and
appropriate application of interventions across
population health outcomes,
diverse populations
participation in clinical
6. Uses quality processes and improvement science
prevention and population
to evaluate care and ensure patient safety for
health for improving health,
individuals, families and communities
and master’s level nursing
practice competencies.
7. Integrates organizational science and informatics
to make changes in the care environments to
improve health outcomes
8. Analyzes nursing history to expand thinking and
provide a sense of professional heritage and
identity.
Possesses Organizational
and Systems Leadership
Graduates recognize that
organizational and systems
leadership are critical to the
promotion of high quality and
safe patient care. Leadership
skills are needed that
emphasize ethical and critical
decision making, effective
working relationships, and a
systems-perspective
1. Applies leadership skills and decision making in the
provision of culturally responsive, high-quality
nursing care, healthcare team coordination, and
the oversight and accountability for care delivery
and outcomes
2. Assumes a leadership role in effectively
implementing patient safety and quality
improvement initiatives within the context of the
inter-professional team using effective
communication skills.
3. Develops an understanding of how healthcare
systems are organized and financed and identifies
the economic, legal, and political factors that
influence health care
4. Demonstrates the ability to use complexity science
and systems theory in the design, delivery, and
evaluation of health care
5. Applies business and economic principles and
practices, including budgeting, cost/benefit
analysis, and marketing to develop a business plan
6. Designs and implements systems change
strategies that improve the care environment.
Possesses a Concern for
Quality Improvement and
Safety
Graduates recognize that
they must be articulate in the
methods, tools, performance
measures, and standards
related to quality, as well as
be prepared to apply quality
principles within an
1. Analyzes information about quality initiative
recognizing the contributions of individuals and
inter-professional healthcare team to improve
health outcomes across the continuum of care
2. Implements evidence-based plans based on trend
analysis and quantifies the impact on quality and
safety
3. Analyzes information and design systems to
sustain improvements and promote transparency
using high reliability and just culture principles
Standard 12
Leadership: The graduate-level
prepared specialty nurse or the
advanced practice RN
 Influences decision-making
bodies to improve the
professional practice
environment and healthcare
consumer outcomes
 Provides direction to enhance
the effectiveness of the
interprofessional team
 Promotes advanced practice
nursing and role development
by interpreting its role for
healthcare consumers,
families, and others.
 Models expert practice to
interprofessional team
members and healthcare
consumers.
 Mentors colleagues in the
acquisition of clinical
knowledge, skills, abilities, and
judgment
Standard 10
Quality of Practice: The graduatelevel prepared specialty nurse or the
advanced practice registered nurse:
 Provides leadership in the
design and implementation of
quality improvements
 Designs innovations to effect
change in practice and
organization
Translates and Integrates
Scholarship into Practice
Graduates apply research
outcomes within the practice
setting, resolves practice
problems, works as a change
agent, and disseminates
results
4. Compares and contrasts several appropriate
quality improvement models
5. Promotes a professional environment that includes
accountability and high-level communication skills
when involved in peer review, advocacy for
patients and families, reporting of errors, and
professional writing.
6. Contributes to the integration of healthcare
services within systems to affect safety and quality
of care to improve patient outcomes and reduce
fragmentation of care
7. Directs quality improvement methods to promote
culturally responsive, safe, timely, effective,
efficient, equitable, and patient-centered care.
8. Leads quality improvement initiatives that integrate
socio-cultural factors affecting the delivery of
nursing and healthcare services.
1. Integrates theory, evidence, clinical judgment,
research, and inter-professional perspectives using
translational processes to improve practice and
associated health outcomes for patient aggregates
2. Advocates for the ethical conduct of research and
translational scholarship
3. Articulates to a variety of audiences the evidence
base for practice decisions, including the credibility
of sources of information and the relevance to the
practice problem confronted
4. Participate, leading when appropriate in
collaborative teams to improve care outcomes and
support policy changes through knowledge
generation, knowledge dissemination, and planning
and evaluating knowledge implementation
5. Applies practice guidelines to improve practice and
the care environment
6. Performs rigorous critique of evidence derived from
improve health outcomes
Evaluates the practice
environment and quality of
nursing care rendered in
relation to existing evidence.
 Identifies opportunities for the
generation and use of
research and evidence
 Obtains and maintains
professional certification if it is
available in the area of
expertise
 Uses the results of quality
improvement to initiate
changes in nursing practice
and the healthcare delivery
system
Standard 9
Evidence-Based Practice and
Research: The graduate-level
prepared specialty nurse or the
advanced practice registered nurse:
 Contributes to nursing
knowledge by conducting or
synthesizing research and
other evidence that discovers,
examines, and equates current
practice, knowledge, theories,
criteria, and creative
approaches to improve
healthcare outcomes
 Promotes a climate of
research and clinical inquiry
 Disseminates research

databases to generate meaningful evidence for
nursing practice.
Uses Informatics and
Healthcare Technologies
Graduates use patient-care
technologies to deliver and
enhance care and uses
communication technologies
to integrate and coordinate
care
1. Analyzes current and emerging technologies to
support safe practice environments, and to
optimize patient safety, cost-effectiveness and
health outcomes
2. Evaluates outcome data using current
communication technologies, information system,
and statistical principles to develop strategies to
reduce risks and improve health outcomes
3. Promotes policies that incorporate ethical
principles and standards for the use of health and
information technologies
4. Provides oversight and guidance in the integration
of technologies to document patient care and
improve patient outcomes
5. Uses information and communication technologies,
resources, and principles of learning to teach
patients and others
6. Uses current and emerging technologies in the
care environment to support lifelong learning for
self and others
findings through activities such
as presentation, publications,
consultations, and journal
clubs
Standard 13
Collaboration: The graduate-level
prepared specialty nurse or the
advanced practice registered nurse:
 Partners with other disciplines
to enhance healthcare
consumer outcomes through
interprofessional activities,
such as education,
consultation, management,
technological development, or
research activities
 Invites the contribution of the
healthcare consumer, family,
and team members in order to
achieve optimal outcomes
 Leads in establishing,
improving, and sustaining
collaborative relationships to
achieve safe, quality
healthcare consumer care
 Documents plan-of-care
communications, rationales for
plan-of-care changes, and
collaborative discussions to
improve healthcare consumer
outcomes
Advocates for Health Policy
to Improve Care
Graduates recognize the
need to intervene at the
system level through the
policy development process
and to employ advocacy
strategies to influence health
and health care
1. Analyzes how policies influence the structure and
financing of health care, practice, and health
outcomes
2. Participates in the development and
implementation of institutional, local, and state and
federal policy
3. Examines the effect of legal and regulatory
processes on nursing practice, healthcare delivery,
and outcomes
4. Interprets research, bringing the nursing
perspective, for policy makers and stakeholders
5. Advocates for policies that improve the health of
the public and the profession of nursing.
Standard 9
Evidence-based Practice and
Research:
The graduate-level prepared specialty
nurse or the advanced practice
registered nurse:
 Contributes to nursing
knowledge by conducting or
synthesizing research and
other evidence that discovers,
examines, and evaluates
current practice, knowledge,
theories, criteria, and creative
approaches to improve health
care outcomes
 Promotes a climate of
research and clinical inquiry
 Disseminates research
findings through activities such
as presentations, publications,
consultation, and journal clubs
Standard 15
Resource Utilization: The graduatelevel prepared specialty nurse or the
advanced practice registered nurse:
 Utilizes organizational and
community resources to
formulate inter-professional
plans of care
 Formulates innovative
solutions for healthcare
consumer care problems that
utilize resources effectively
and maintain quality
 Designs evaluation strategies
Practices Inter-Professional
Collaboration for improving
Patient and Population
Health Outcomes
Graduates are members and
leaders of inter-professional
teams who communicate,
collaborate and consult with
other health professionals to
manage and coordinate care
1. Advocates for the value and role of the
professional nurse as member and leader of interprofessional healthcare teams
2. Understands other health professions’ scopes of
practice to maximize contributions within the
healthcare team
3. Employs collaborative strategies in the design,
coordination, and evaluation of patient-centered
care
4. Uses effective communication strategies to
develop, participate, and lead inter-professional
teams and partnerships
5. Mentors and coaches new and experienced nurses
and other members of the healthcare team
6. Functions as an effective group leader or member
based on an in-depth understanding of team
dynamics and group processes
that demonstrate costeffectiveness, cost-benefit,
and efficiency factors
associated with nursing
practice
Standard 13
Collaboration: The graduate-level
prepared specialty nurse or the
advanced practice registered nurse:
 Partners with disciplines to
enhance healthcare consumer
outcome through
interprofessional activities,
such as education,
consultation, management,
technological development, or
research opportunities
 Invites the contribution of the
healthcare consumer, family,
and team members in order to
achieved optimal outcomes
 Leads in establishing,
improving and sustaining
collaborative relationships to
achieve safe, quality
healthcare consumer care
 Documents plan-of-care
communications, rationales for
plan-of-care changes, and
collaborative discussions to
improve healthcare consumer
outcomes.
Participates in Clinical
Prevention and Population
Health for Improving Health
Graduates apply and
integrate broad,
organizational, clientcentered, and culturally
appropriate concepts in the
planning, delivery,
management, and evaluation
of evidence-based clinical
prevention and population
care and services to
individuals, families, and
aggregates/identified
populations
1. Synthesizes broad ecological, global and social
determinants of health; principles of genetics and
genomics; and epidemiologic data to design and
deliver evidence-based, culturally relevant clinical
prevention interventions and strategies
2. Evaluates the effectiveness of clinical prevention
interventions that affect individual and populationbased health outcomes using health information
technology and data sources
3. Designs patient-centered and culturally responsive
strategies in the delivery of clinical prevention and
health promotion interventions and/or services to
individuals, families, communities, and
aggregates/clinical population
4. Advances equitable and efficient prevention
services, and promotes effective population-based
health policy through the application of nursing
science and other scientific concepts
5. Integrates clinical prevention and population
concepts in the development
Standard 14
Professional Practice Evaluation:
The graduate-level prepared specialty
nurse or the advanced practice
registered nurse:
 Engages in a formal process
seeking feedback regarding
her or his own practice from
healthcare consumers, peers,
professional colleagues, and
others
Standard 16
Environmental Health: The graduatelevel prepared specialty nurse or the
advanced practice registered nurse:
 Creates partnerships that
promote sustainable
environmental health policies
and conditions
 Analyzes the impact of social,
political, and economic
influences on the environment
and human health exposure
 Critically evaluates the manner
in which environmental health
issues are presented by the
popular media
 Advocates for implementation
of environmental principles for
nursing practice
 Supports nurses in advocating
for and implementing
environmental principles in
nursing practice
Possesses Master’s Level
Nursing Practice
Competencies
Master’s-level nursing
graduates have an advanced
level of understanding of
nursing and relevant sciences
as well as the ability to
integrate this knowledge into
practice.
1. Conducts a comprehensive and systematic
assessment as a foundation for decision making
2. Applies the best available evidence from nursing
and other sciences as the foundation for practice
3. Advocates for patients, families, caregivers,
communities and members of the healthcare team
4. Uses information and communication technologies
to advance patient education, enhance
accessibility of care, analyze practice patterns, and
improve health care outcomes, including nurse
sensitive outcomes
5. Uses leadership skills to teach, coach, and mentor
other members of the healthcare team
6. Uses epidemiological, social, and environmental
data in drawing inferences regarding the health
status of patient populations and interventions to
promote and preserve health and healthy lifestyles
7. Uses knowledge of illness and disease
management to provide evidence-based care to
populations, perform risk assessments, and design
plans or programs of care
8. Incorporates core scientific and ethical principles in
identifying potential and actual ethical issues
arising from practice, including the use of
technologies, and in assisting patients and other
healthcare providers to address such issues
9. Applies advanced knowledge of the effects of
global environmental, individual and population
characteristics to the design, implementation, and
evaluation of care
10. Employs knowledge and skills in economics,
business principles, and systems in the design,
delivery, and evaluation of care
11. Applies theories and evidence-based knowledge in
leading, as appropriate, the healthcare team to
design, coordinate, and evaluate the delivery of
care
12. .Applies learning and teaching principles to the
design, implementation, and evaluation of health
education programs for individuals or groups in a
Standard 8
Education: The graduate-level
prepared specialty nurse or the
advanced practice registered nurse:
Uses current healthcare research
findings and other evidence to expand
clinical knowledge, skills, abilities, and
judgment, to enhance role
performance, and to increase
knowledge of professional issues.
variety of settings
13. Establishes therapeutic relationships to negotiate
patient-centered, culturally appropriate, evidencebased goals and modalities of care
14. Designs strategies that promote lifelong learning of
self and peers and that incorporate professional
nursing standards and accountability for practice
15. Integrates an evolving personal philosophy of
nursing and healthcare into one’s nursing practice