The nurse practitioner profession started in 1965 to respond to the increasing demand for primary care providers in the United States. The government recently expanded Medicare and Medicaid to cover disadvantaged people, leading to a mismatch in the number of available physicians and the large population of people now qualified for primary care.
The first nurse practitioner program (NP) was launched at the University of Colorado in 1965 by NP pioneers Loretta Ford, EdD, PNP, FAAN, and Henry Silver, MD. It started as a certificate program, but in the early 1970s, the university upgraded it to a full master’s degree program.
In the 1970s, the NP program, primarily focused on pediatrics, was expanded to other areas, including family NP programs and adult NP programs. By 1973, the NP programs had grown to 65. The following year, the American Nurses Association (ANA) established the Council of Primary Care Nurse Practitioners to legitimize the role of Nurse Practitioners. By 1977, the ANA was offering NP certification exams. Before the end of the decade........READ MORE HERE
SOURCE: NATIONALTODAY
Comments