Protecting the Public: State Nursing Boards

 Registered nurses (RNs), vocational or practical nurses (LVNs or LPNs), advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), and various other nursing professionals must be licensed in the states in which they practice.  In most states, it is a State Nursing Board, or the equivalent, that provides regulatory oversight of the nursing professions.  With more than four (4) million RNs, LVNs, LPNs and other nursing professionals employed in the United States, effective oversight is significant task for state licensing authorities.  These regulatory authorities protect the health and safety of the public by determining licensure qualifications for new nursing professionals, establishing standards for practitioners to follow in order to maintain their license to practice, disciplining licensees who fail to adhere to those requirements, and promoting the delivery of the high quality nursing care. In addition to nurses and other nursing professionals, in many states the Nursing Board, or its equivalent, provides regulatory oversight of various institutions that provide nurse training and education.  To find the Nursing Board, or the equivalent, serving in each state, check out our resource guide:

State Nursing Boards | Health Guide USA

Nursing Specialty Certification Boards

All nurses must be licensed by the state's in which they work.  While licensing requirements vary some from state-to-state, individuals must demonstrate a specific level of education and competency in their chosen nursing profession in order to obtain, and maintain, a license to practice in a state.  Much like doctors and dentists, nurses can attain specialty designations in specific practice areas, such as ambulatory care, gerontology, oncology, orthopedics, pediatrics and other advanced clinical specialties. Nurses can attain such specialist designation by demonstrating, to a national certification organization, a specified level of clinical knowledge and proficiency in a particular nursing practice area. Although certification is usually voluntary, it demonstrates a specific level of competency that nursing employers often desire.

There are more than twenty national boards that confer specialty certifications to nursing professionals who meet their certification (or recertification) standards.  To find these national nursing specialty certification organizations and to learn more about their contribution to establishing and maintaining professional nursing standards, visit our resource page:

Nursing Specialty Certification Boards | Health Guide USA

Strong Job Outlook for APRNs

With employment projected to grow 31% from 2012 to 2022, the job outlook for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) is a strong one.  By comparison, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is anticipating 11% job growth for all occupations in the U.S. during the same period.  Advanced Practice Registered Nurse occupations include nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners.  All three of these APRN occupations are forecast by the BLS to experience much faster than average job growth.  The number of nurse anesthetist jobs is expected to reach 43,900 positions in 2022, up 25% from 2012.  Nurse midwife positions are projected to have an even faster 29% growth rate as the number of nurse midwife jobs is expected to reach 7,700 in 2022, up from 6,000 such positions in 2012.  Nurse practitioners held over 110,000 positions in 2012, making it the largest of the APRN occupations.  Even so, according to the BLS nurse practitioners have the strongest job growth outlook among the APRN occupations as the number of nurse practitioner jobs is expected to grow 34%, to 147,300 positions, from 2012 to 2022.

The strong job outlook for APRNs is underpinned by robust growth in the demand for healthcare services. Several factors, including the Affordable Care Act and its positive impact on the overall number of Americans with health insurance coverage, the increased emphasis on preventative care, and the large, aging baby-boom population will contribute to growing demand for healthcare services.

Also underlying the strong job outlook for APRNs are legislative trends that are gradually expanding the profession's practice authority to include more primary care services traditionally rendered by physicians.  In addition, APRNs  are becoming more widely recognized by the public as a source for primary healthcare, another ongoing development that will boost job growth prospects for the profession.

For a look at the job outlook for other health professions, visit Healthcare Job Outlook.