Family nurse practitioners: roles and scope of practice in the care of pediatric patients.
OBJECTIVE
The goal was to characterize the pediatric role and scope of practice of family nurse practitioners (FNPs).


METHODS
A mail survey of a random national sample of 1000 FNPs, stratified according to states that license nurse practitioners to practice independently, was performed. Frequencies were calculated and bivariate analyses were performed to determine the level of association between practice characteristics and practice state, practice location (urban versus rural), and type of care provided (primary versus specialty).


RESULTS
The overall response rate was 75.9%. Sixty-six percent of respondents (n = 416) reported that they currently provided care to children, and 18% (n = 110) reported that they had never provided care to children. Fifty-four percent of FNPs who provided care to children (n = 222) reported that children represented ≤ 25% of their current patient populations. Few FNPs (9% [n = 39]) reported that children represented >75% of their total patient populations.


CONCLUSIONS
Among FNPs who provide care to children, pediatric patients represent only a small fraction of their patient populations. FNPs are unlikely to have a significant impact on the availability of either primary or subspecialty care for children in the near future.
Freed
Gary L
GL
University of Michigan, School of Public Health, Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit, 300 North Ingalls Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0456, USA. gfreed@med.umich.edu
Dunham
Kelly M
KM
Loveland-Cherry
Carol
C
Martyn
Kristy K
KK
D002648:Child; D003625:Data Collection; D022143:Family Nursing; D005194:Family Practice; D006801:Humans; D008008:Licensure, Nursing; D009722:Nurse Practitioners; D024802:Nurse's Role; D057184:Practice Patterns, Nurses'; D011320:Primary Health Care; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D013041:Specialties, Nursing; D014481:United States