title: A brief history of advanced practice nursing and its implications for WOC advanced nursing practice.
abstract: Although the evolution of clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners during the previous several decades has led to a sense of novelty regarding advanced practice, it is important to remember that nurses have engaged in such roles for nearly 100 years. This article will review the history of advanced nursing practice, summarize current definitions of specialty and advanced practice, discuss the evolution of advanced practice and its impact on contemporary nursing, and provide a background for advanced practice considerations for the WOC nurse, which are discussed in detail in subsequent articles by Janice Beitz (pp 55-64) and Dorothy Doughty (pp 65-8) in this issue.
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia Department of Urology, HSC Box 422, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ratliff
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mawyer
mesh_terms: D049673:History, 20th Century; D009719:Nurse Anesthetists / Q000266:history; D009721:Nurse Midwives / Q000266:history; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000266:history; D010030:Ostomy / Q000451:nursing*; D013041:Specialties, Nursing / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000451:nursing*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000451:nursing*