NP Facts & Figures
Who are nurse practitioners?
A nurse practitioner (NP) is a nurse with a graduate degree in advanced practice nursing. This allows the NP to provide a broad range of health care services, including:
Taking the patient's history, performing a physical exam, and ordering appropriate laboratory tests and procedures, diagnosing, treating, and managing acute and chronic diseases, providing prescriptions and coordinating referrals, promoting healthy activities in collaboration with the patient.
Nurse practitioner specialties include family practice, women's health, pediatrics, geriatrics, adult health, neonatology, psych/mental health, and acute care.
(Source: Adapted from U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health)
How many nurse practitioners are there?
The current number of Nurse Practitioners is estimated to be 141,209.
(Source: U.S Dept of Health and Human Services, December 2005)
How many NPs graduate each year?
Number of Nurse Practitioner graduates in 2004 was 6,474.
(Source: National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, 2004)
Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs and students...
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing provided the latest statistics on the DNP programs. Currently there are 53 DNP programs in 32 states and the District of Columbia. Sixteen of these programs admit post baccalaureate students. Approximately 160 new DNP programs are in the process of being developed. As of Fall 2007, there were 1807 students enrolled in DNP programs, 785 are full time students and 1089 are part time. To date there are 122 DNP graduates. (12/07)
In what settings do nurse practitioners practice?
- Private practices
- Community clinics
- Hospitals: In-patient settings and emergency rooms
- School-based clinics
- Correctional facilities
- Nursing homes/long-term care facilities/hospices
- Health maintenance organizations
- Armed Forces and Veterans’ Administration facilities
- Urgent care settings
NP Practice Information/Practice Regulation
A state by state summary of statutes, rules and regulations, malpractice information, policy issues and government data pertinent to NPs is presented in The Pearson Report. This comprehensive guide is presented in The American Journal for Nurse Practitioners:
Pearson, L. (February, 2007). The Pearson Report. The American Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 11, 2, 10-101.
To review the report: http://www.webnp.net/ajnp.html
