Nurse practitioners: US overview and discussion

Chart Overview of Nurse Practitioner Scopes of Practice in the United States is just what its title says - a visual representation of current state oversight of nurse practitioners. Commentary on the chart is contained in a companion piece, Overview of Nurse Practitioner Scopes of Practice in the United States – Discussion. The researchers found that nurse practitioner scopes of practice continue to vary widely among the states, as do education and certification requirements. They suggest that "the professions and the public are ill-served when practice authorities differ dramatically among states." Policy options proposed for consideration are expanding the profession's scope of practice to match cometence, adopting uniform scope of practice laws, and increasing the number of educational programs to meet the growing demand for primary care. Both reports are published by the Center for the Health Professions, University of California, San Francisco.