The American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners (AAENP) has just completed two important documents, the Scope of Practice for Emergency Nurse Practitioners and the Standards of Practice for Nurse Practitioners, important in establishing credentialing mechanisms and informing emergency nurse practitioner (ENP) curricula. In the spirit of collaboration, the Emergency Nurses Association has endorsed both these AAENP documents.

The Scope of Practice document provides an overview of the role, education, accountability, and responsibility of the ENP. The scope of practice for ENPs is based upon nationally recognized licensure, education, and certification with inclusion of specialty educational content. The ENP's scope of practice must be viewed in conjunction with state regulatory licensure requirements and may be limited by organizational credentialing and privileging entities.

The AAENP Standards of Practice document offers a concise summary of standards of practice. These ENP standards include (1) the definition of acute care in emergency practice, (2) qualifications and competencies, (3) prioritization of care, (4) documentation, (5) interprofessional/collaborative responsibilities, (6) patient advocate responsibilities, (7) practice-based research, and (8) other roles.

We are pleased to publish the Scope of Practice for Emergency Nurse Practitioners and the Standards of Practice for Nurse Practitioners in this issue of Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal. Congratulations to AAENP on this momentous accomplishment.

-K. Sue Hoyt, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, CEN, FAEN, FAANP, FAAN

Clinical Professor

Hahn School of Nursing

and Health Science:

Beyster Institute for Nursing Research

University of San Diego

San Diego, CA

-Jean A. Proehl, RN, MN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN, FAEN

Emergency Clinical Nurse Specialist

Proehl PRN, LLC

Cornish, NH