of each group can be found on pages 13-16 and individual and organizational participants in each group in Appendices C-H.

This document defines APRN practice, describes the APRN regulatory model, identifies the titles to be used, defines specialty, describes the emergence of new roles and population foci, and presents strategies for implementation.

The APRN Model of Regulation described will be the model of the future. It is recognized that current regulation of APRNs does not reflect all of the components described in this paper and will evolve incrementally over time. A proposed timeline for implementation is presented at the end of the paper.

In this APRN model of regulation there are four roles: certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), certified nurse-midwife (CNM), clinical nurse specialist (CNS), and certified nurse practitioner (CNP). These four roles are given the title of advanced practice registered nurse (APRN). APRNs are educated in one of the four roles and in at least one of six population foci: family/individual across the lifespan, adult-gerontology, pediatrics, neonatal, women’s health/gender-related or psych/mental health. APRN education programs, including degree-granting and post-graduate education programs², are accredited. APRN education consists of a broad-based education, including three separate graduate-level courses in advanced physiology/pathophysiology, health assessment and pharmacology as well as appropriate clinical experiences. All developing APRN education programs or tracks go through a pre-approval, pre-accreditation, or accreditation process prior to admitting students. APRN education programs must be housed within graduate programs that are nationally accredited³ and their graduates must be eligible for national certification used for state licensure.

Individuals who have the appropriate education will sit for a certification examination to assess national competencies of the APRN core, role and at least one population focus area of practice for regulatory purposes. APRN certification programs will be accredited by a national certification accrediting body⁴. APRN certification programs will require a continued competency mechanism.

Individuals will be licensed as independent practitioners for practice at