The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 highlighted the need for an agile healthcare work force
that is optimally utilized. The wide variance of state laws related to advanced practice
registered nurses (APRNs) acted as a barrier to mobility during this time. The Consensus
Model for APRN Regulation, Licensure, Accreditation, Certification, and Education
(Consensus Model) was developed in 2008 to provide a uniform model for APRN regulation.
If adopted, the Consensus Model would align state laws related to APRNs and would
clear the way for an APRN Compact, which would allow APRNs to practice across state
borders. Although some states have completely adopted the Consensus Model’s elements
in the 13 years since its publication, many have not. Without regulatory uniformity,
APRNs cannot efficiently provide care where needed throughout the country or practice
to the full extent of their education, leaving some without access to quality care.
This update provides a review of the elements of the Consensus Model, identifies progress
made toward its full adoption, discusses continued barriers to full alignment with
the Consensus Model, and describes the proposed APRN Compact that would result from
further adoption of the model.
Keywords
- Nurse practice act
- scope of practice
- APRN Compact
- regulation
- licensure
- accreditation
- certification
- education
- full practice authority
- mobility
- APRNs
- advanced practice registered nurses
- APRN
- Consensus Model
- COVID-19
- legislation
- collaborative practice agreement
- prescriptive authority
- transition to practice
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Biography
Michelle Buck, MS, APRN, CNS, is a Senior Policy Advisor, Regulation, National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Chicago, Illinois.
Article info
Footnotes
Conflicts of interest: None.
Identification
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© 2021 National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
