Background
The nurse practitioner (NP) role originated in the US during
the 1960s, to improve quality and access to primary health
care within under-serviced communities. The NP role was
quickly adopted throughout the United States, with university-
based educational programs developing rapidly (Walsh
2001). Similar factors to those evident in the US and Canada
paved the way for the implementation of NPs in the UK in the
1980s (Harris & Redshaw 1998), including cost containment
in health service provision, the development of a more skilled
nursing workforce and the need to provide improved access
to health care services (Horricks et al. 2002). Despite the
longevity of the NP role and the common impetus for its
inception internationally, there is a lack of consensus on the
definition of the NP role (Reveley et al. 2001). Although the
role of NP is well established in countries with very different
healthcare systems, there are international similarities in the
controversial issues surrounding NP education and role
definition.