The annual meeting of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties offers attendees the opportunity to chat with representatives from accrediting and certifying bodies for clarification and updates on licensure, accreditation, certification, and education (LACE). In 2008, the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Consensus Model was adopted and endorsed by many nursing organizations; nursing leaders spent several years meeting and negotiating before coming to agreement.
This year has been targeted for full implementation of the Regulatory Model and all embedded recommendations. If you are a student preparing for an APRN role and plan to take a national certification exam at graduation or are a nationally certified [practicing] APRN who will need to recertify in the future, this new model affects you.
APRN roles
The APRN Consensus Model recognizes four advanced practice roles: nurse anesthetist, nurse midwife, clinical nurse specialist, and nurse practitioner (NP). Additionally, education and training are in one of six population foci for the NP and no longer in a prescribed specialty (family/individual across lifespan; adult-gerontology [acute or primary care competencies]; neonatal; pediatric [acute or primary care]; women's health/gender-related; and psychiatric-mental health [PMH]) across the lifespan. Any area more specific than these six is considered a specialty. New certification as an adult (primary or acute care) NP or adult PMHNP will soon be removed, but NPs already certified in one of the "old" roles can maintain their credentials.
The Model notes that the "scope of practice for the primary or acute care CNP [certified NP] is not setting specific but is based on patient care needs."1 However, certification must match educational preparation. The faculty is responsible for developing curricula that prepares students to meet the new eligibility requirements for initial certification.
Recertification
As schools and colleges of nursing transition their graduate NP programs to comply with the APRN Consensus Model and LACE, graduates are also seeking information about recertification. The practicing NP may not have much contact with academic programs to stay informed about changes. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) assures current CNPs that they can renew certification "by maintaining their license to practice and meeting the renewal requirements in place at the time of their certification renewal."2
Students graduating from programs that have not changed to the new Regulatory Model yet may take the old exam as well (for a limited time). ANCC must receive your application by December 31, 2015, and the exam must be administered by December 31, 2016. After January 2017, the old exams will be retired, and the only option for certification renewal will be through professional development and practice hour requirements.
Maintain your certification
What does it mean if you are certified in one of the "old" roles and you allow your certification to lapse after December 31, 2015? You will lose your certification with ANCC and will find yourself returning to school to acquire the content missing from your original NP program to meet the new requirements. Most states require national certification for licensure. In states where national certification is not mandatory, many employers still require it. Remember that professional development means continued education/activities in your population focus area and not just in the specialty in which you might work. You worked hard to achieve certification; work just as hard to maintain it.
Jamesetta Newland, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, FAANP, DPNAP
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF [email protected]
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