In summary, there remain four issues of concern with
the NMBA Endorsement of NPs registration standard. The
first is that the requirement and accompanying definition
in the Standard should be for advanced nursing practice,
a broad term already defined by the profession in
the ANF Competency Standards for the Advanced Registered
Nurse, rather than an advanced practice nursing role. The
second issue is that the reference to ”extended” practice
as part of the NMBA’s definition of ”advanced practice
nursing” can be interpreted to mean that only registered
nurses already endorsed as NPs can legally undertake ”advanced
practice nursing.” This is not consistent with current
practice and should not be the case. Consequently,
for absolute clarity, reference to ”extended” should be removed
from the definition. The third is that it should be
the experience in advanced nursing practice rather than
length of time in an ”advanced practice nursing role”
that is required. The fourth and final issue is that there
is no evidence to support the arbitrary requirement of
3 years full-time experience in an advanced practice nursing
role.