As highlighted in the Bloomberg Businessweek article “The Miseducation of America’s Nurse Practitioners” from July 2024, the education and training for nurse practitioners (NPs) in the United States is varied and up to 60% of nurse practitioner programs are online. Over 2,000 licensed NPs in North Carolina received their NP training from 100% online programs.
With NPs being the fastest growing profession in our country, poorly educated and trained NPs can pose serious risks to patient safety. As demands have increased, nursing schools have started offering “direct entry” programs and are accepting students who are not experienced nurses looking to increase their skills. Many students have bachelor’s degrees in unrelated fields.
One nursing school in Alabama accepts 96% of applicants and confers more than 800 master’s and doctorate degrees per year. This school provides mostly online education, with students visiting the campus three or less times during their two years in the program. Another nursing school in Ohio advertises its master’s degree as being 100% online.
Unlike medical doctors who have a residency and fellowship after medical school, the post-nursing school training is generally unregulated for NPs. Many programs require NPs to find their own instructors/preceptors for training, which can result in NPs being placed with preceptors without much experience. According to the article, most preceptors are licensed NPs with as little as one year of work experience themselves.
With the lives of their patients in the hands of these providers, their education and training matters. Due to inconsistent training and low academic standards, expanding the scope of practice for NPs will put patient safety at risk. North Carolinians deserve better.
The NC Patient Safety Coalition is an alliance of medical professionals that advocate for physician-led health care that protects patient safety. Learn more on our website at www.ncpatientsafety.com, and follow us on X @NCPatientSafety and Facebook www.facebook.com/NCPatientSafety.