Letters to the Editor

Predictions indicate that the current shortage of nurses and physicians will only worsen over the next decades.2,3 Increasing the educational requirements for NPs/APNs are feared by some to create excessive barriers for health care access as the DNP will require costly and time-consuming education.2...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal for nurse practitioners Vol. 4; no. 8; p. 565
Main Authors Budd, Geri M, Bloch, Joan, Falkenstein, Kathleen, Phillips, Robert, Ricciardi, Richard, Lester, Norma, Buppert, Carolyn
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Philadelphia Elsevier Limited 01.09.2008
Subjects
Certification
Debates
Drug addiction
Education
Health care access
Nurse practitioners
Nursing
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Summary:Predictions indicate that the current shortage of nurses and physicians will only worsen over the next decades.2,3 Increasing the educational requirements for NPs/APNs are feared by some to create excessive barriers for health care access as the DNP will require costly and time-consuming education.2,4 However, Apold1 and others5 espouse that advancing the level of education required for NPs/APNs should ultimately result in higher quality of care delivered. Additionally, this certification "mixing pot" comes at a time when the National Council of State Boards is seeking nurse practitioner specialty and subspecialty role clarification.9 In closing, we are reminded that the current debate is remarkably similar to not only the advent of the BSN, but to the certificate versus MSN NP dispute that fragmented and divided advanced practice.
ISSN:1555-4155
1878-058X
DOI:10.1016/j.nurpra.2008.07.005