Twenty-First Century APN Leadership

Abstract

This is an incredibly exciting time to be an advanced practice nurse (APN)-In the U.S. this includes nurses who specialize as a clinical nurse specialist, nurse anesthetist , nurse midwife, or nurse practitioner. APNs have an unprecedented opportunity to take on roles throughout the world that expand access to care and more systematically address the root causes of poor health. Policy-makers increasingly recognize that APNs, as primary providers of health care to people, families, and communities in all settings, offer untapped potential for helping people to live healthier lives. Two seminal reports will be released in 2020 that will underscore nursing's potential to improve health: the World Health Organization's (WHO's) State of the World's Nursing report and the United States' National Academy of Medicine's Future of Nursing: 2020-2030. In addition, the 3-year Nursing Now! Campaign, run by the WHO and the International Council of Nurses, aims to raise the status and profile of nurses and to empower nurses to take their place at the heart of tackling twenty-first century health challenges. The WHO is further shining a spotlight on the nursing and midwifery fields by designating 2020 the Year of the Nurse and Midwife in honor of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale's 200th birthday and to emphasize that nurses and midwives are essential to the achievement of universal health coverage. In addition, the International Council of Nurses will soon release definitions of what constitutes an NP and a CNS.