FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/June 12, 1996 CONTACT: Joan Meehan [202/651-7020] NP Certifying Organizations And NCSBN Reach Agreement on RegulationWASHINGTON D.C. -- Agreement has been reached among the four nurse practitioner certifying organizations, their parent organizations, and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) about review of nurse practitioner certification examinations for the purpose of legal regulation. Earlier discussions between the interested parties [the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the National Certification Board of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Nurses (NCBPNP/N) the National Certification Corporation for the Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing Specialities (NCC), the American Nurses Association (ANA), the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN), the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates and Practitioners (NAPNAP) and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)] had broken down when the groups were unable to reach consensus on alternative options to meet the commonly agreed upon goal to have sound professional certification for advanced practice nurses recognized for state regulatory purposes. However, at a joint meeting held in Washington D.C. on May 29, all above stated organizations and certifying bodies agreed that a mechanism of third party external review of the current nurse practitioner organizations' certification programs would meet the goal of assuring sound professional certification for nurse practitioners. The profession of nursing, as with all professions, seeks to set its own standards, codes of conduct, ethical positions, statements about its knowledge base and how that knowledge is implemented. This work is carried out by professional nursing associations and may be utilized in the state or federal government sector for regulatory purposes. The profession's method of regulating advanced practice nursing is a rigorous certification process which has been refined over several years. Discussions have been underway since September 1995 among the four nurse practitioner certifying organizations and the NCSBN about establishing a process to achieve certification that is legally defensible, psychometrically sound and suitable for regulatory purposes. At the May 1996 meeting, all interested parties agreed that an alternative mechanism of a third-party external review of the current nurse practitioner organizations' certification programs was acceptable and that review would utilize the standards promulgated by the National Certifying Commission Agency (NCCA) with supplemented criteria. The proposed review would validate that the certification examinations are sufficient for regulatory purposes, psychometrically sound , legally defensible and can be used for entry-level. The meeting's facilitator, ANA President Virginia Trotter Betts, JD, MSN, RN, said the meeting of organization presidents and executive directors achieved clarity of purpose and unity of direction.
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