You instinctively advocate for your patients, but legislative and political advocacy is no less important to advancing your role as an NP and ensuring excellence in patient care. Position statements and papers are designed to guide and amplify the views of NPs while educating consumers and decision-makers. The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) has outlined a number of positions on issues of importance for NPs nationwide.
For further information, AANP discussion papers offer pros and cons to enhance understanding and encourage continued discussion. AANP also offers a number of members-only clinical practice briefs, which are designed to offer evidence-based guidelines and to support NPs in clinical practice.
The APRN Compact for multistate licensure was adopted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) in August 2020. Review AANP's position on the revised compact.
Read AANP's position on artificial intelligence in the delivery of health care.
All NPs must complete a master's or doctoral degree program and have advanced clinical training beyond their initial professional registered nurse (RN) preparation. They undergo rigorous national certification, periodic peer review, clinical outcome evaluations and adhere to a code for ethical practices. View AANP's position on mandated residencies and fellowships for NPs.
The cornerstone of NP practice is robust academic and clinical preparation. To that end, AANP believes and affirms that quality of NP preparation is comprised and grounded by these requirements.
Prescribing medications, devices, treatments and modalities is a central component of NP practice. Discover why AANP advocates that NPs have unlimited prescriptive authority in their scope of practice.
Team-based care is a systems approach to health care delivery. See AANP's position on the implementation of integrated, multidisciplinary team-based approaches to health care.
Technology has advanced substantially in recent decades, leading to an increase in health tech services such as telehealth. Take a look at AANP's position on the use of the term telehealth and NPs' use of this important technology.
NPs are the health care provider of choice for millions of patients, many of whom are interested in the therapeutic use of marijuana and related compounds. Learn AANP's stance on marijuana in health care.
Patients have the right to know who is providing their care in the clinical setting, including the academic preparation of those health care professionals. Read AANP's position on the use of titles and credentials within health care settings.
Proactive measures must be taken to ensure adequate protections are in place to maintain safe work environments. Read AANP's position on violence in the workplace.
Educational preparation for NPs differs from that of other health care professionals. Discover why outcomes are the best way to evaluate clinician education and measure clinical success and patient safety.
NPs are committed to providing primary care. Gain insight into how NPs are vital to primary care delivery and the role they play in making high-quality, patient-centered health care available to the broadest possible range of consumers.
Health care is moving to make care more convenient and local to where patients live and work, and retail-based clinics are playing a larger role. See a discussion of the standards AANP recommends for retail-based clinics.
Getting terminology right is key to getting health care right. Some terms, such as mid-level provider or physician extender, are inaccurate and misleading to the public when referring to NPs. Gain an understanding of why AANP endorses clear title use for NPs.
The evolution of existing master’s programs to doctoral programs can strengthen programs and NP practice. Read AANP's position on the shift in the academic preparation of nurses in advanced practice.
NPs must complete an accredited graduate program and achieve advanced clinical training beyond their initial professional registered nurse preparation. Read AANP’s affirmation of core elements in NP curriculum.
The body of literature supports the position that NPs provide effective, patient-centered, efficient, safe and evidenced-based care. Explore systematic reviews and individual studies on NP quality.
A solid body of evidence demonstrates that NPs provide cost-effective care while producing outcomes comparable to those of physicians. Review the summary of research supporting the value NPs bring to their patients.
As licensed, independent clinicians, NPs practice autonomously and in coordination with health care professionals and other individuals. Learn more with this overview of the role, education, accountability, and responsibility of NPs.
Whether you are just starting your path to becoming an NP, have been practicing for decades or are simply interested in NP practice, gain valuable information about NPs with this overview of AANP-developed Standards of Practice.
The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) recently released several guidelines to prevent cardiovascular diseases and improve the management of these diseases.
These 2014 recommendations from the AHA, ACC and Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) explore atrial fibrillation (AF), a supraventricular tachycardia characterized by uncoordinated atrial activation and ineffective contraction.
In 2019, the AHA released an up-to-date, comprehensive set of guidelines for clinicians caring for patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). The updated guidelines provide high-quality, evidence-based recommendations for the evaluation and treatment of AIS and the subsequent management of hospitalized patients, including the initiation of secondary prevention measures.
This long-awaited updated guideline on the management of hypertension in adults differs from its predecessor (Seventh Joint National Committee [JNC 7]) in a number of ways.
The purpose of the guideline, developed by the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, is to discuss quality improvement for all clinicians and to promote accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
In an online search through the National Guideline Clearinghouse, only two general non-disease-specific guidelines out of more than 100 different clinical guidelines address genetic counseling and testing.
A recently updated practice parameter from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) offers revised guidelines for assessing and treating children and adolescents (at or younger than 17 years of age) with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
AIM Specialty Health® (AIM) issued updated guidelines on polysomnography and home sleep testing in 2019. AIM promotes safe, cost-effective and appropriate specialty services. Guidelines are devised based on grading of evidence.
Access the latest guidance for the management of multiple post-COVID conditions, as well as references to the full Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance.
The CDC provides guidance for health care providers on the assessment, treatment and prevention of measles in Measles for Healthcare Professionals.
Access the latest guidance to support the successful implementation of injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for the prevention of HIV infection in high-risk populations.
Obtain information about CDC guidelines related to the implementation of PrEP to prevent HIV infection in high-risk populations.
The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) along with the American Hospital Association and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) have collaborated in updating these guidelines.
The OMA 2020 Obesity Algorithm discusses the management of obesity and includes pharmacologic guidance as an adjunct in the foundational treatment of obesity: diet, activity and behavioral interventions.
Among the multiple published professional breast cancer screening guidelines, three commonly used guidelines are summarized here: the American Cancer Society (ACS), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines.
This brief provides guidance for clinicians regarding the implementation of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, based on the 2021 USPSTF guidelines for asymptomatic individuals with average risk.
AAN has reviewed the literature and issued a position paper regarding long-term use of opioids in the treatment of non-cancer pain. This review summarizes the position paper as it has direct application for advanced nursing practice.
The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) provides multidisciplinary clinical practice guidelines based on evidence-based practice, including these on counseling, diagnosis, evaluation, management and treatment for acute migraine in children and adolescents.
AAN provides multidisciplinary clinical practice guidelines based on evidence-based practice, including these best practices on counseling, diagnosis, evaluation, management and treatment for preventive migraine in children and adolescents.
Toward Optimized Practice (TOP) of Alberta, Canada, provides multidisciplinary clinical practice guidelines that are based on evidence-based practice.
The 2014 updated guideline was compiled by the Michigan Quality Improvement Consortium. The recommendations were drawn from a synthesis of published studies, existing protocols and national guidelines.
The original Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease* (GOLD) was released in 2001 and was revised in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020, based on scientific literature. The 2020 report follows the same model as previous reports.
The Agency for Quality Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) published a report from 2015 comparing the effectiveness of therapies for menopausal symptoms.
Position statements are designed to be short, concise documents that offer a clearly outlined stance taken by AANP on a particular topic or topics relevant to NP practice, health policy, the NP role or other health-related topics. As such, position statements do not include supporting information and discussion, citations or bibliographies.
Position papers offer a more in-depth view of the positions outlined in AANP’s position statements. Position papers may include bipartisan discussion on a particular topic or topics, historical and background information, references, facts, figures and bibliographies for additional suggested reading. Position papers may set forth AANP’s stance on certain topics but seek to offer a more comprehensive look at the issues and rationale.
Discussion papers, unlike position statements and position papers, do not provide guidance on AANP’s official stance on a certain topic or topics. Instead, discussion papers are designed to present and discuss the issues surrounding a topic in an effort to be inclusive of multiple opinions and viewpoints. In some instances, discussion papers may be used as a first step in the development of an official AANP position paper or position statement.
Clinical practice briefs offer a brief summary of published clinical practice guidelines and research-based approaches that promote best practices and standards of care among all NPs.