includes legislated privileges. The nurse practitioner is a clinical leader with a
readiness and an obligation to advocate for their client base and their profession at
the systems level of health care.
Conclusion. A clearly articulated and research informed description of the core role
of the nurse practitioner provides the basis for development of educational and
practice competency standards. These research findings provide new perspectives to
inform the international debate about this extended level of nursing practice.
Relevance to clinical practice. The findings from this research have the potential to
achieve a standardised approach and internationally consistent nomenclature for the
nurse practitioner role.