title: Blueprint for development of the advanced practice psychiatric nurse workforce.
abstract: The mental health system is inefficient and ineffective in providing behavioral health care services to the 1 in 4 Americans who have a mental illness or a substance abuse problem. Current health care reform initiatives present a significant opportunity for advanced practice psychiatric nurses-psychiatric mental health (APRN-PMH) to develop action-oriented recommendations for developing their workforce and thereby increasing access to high-quality and full-spectrum behavioral health care services. If endorsed by the professional nursing associations and the APRN-PMH workforce, the strategies presented in this paper provide a blueprint for developing the APRN-PMH workforce. Achieving these goals will significantly reform the APRN-PMH workforce, thereby contributing to the overall goal of supporting an integrated model of behavioral health care. No change has as much potential to influence the APRN-PMH workforce as the uniting of all APRN-PMHs in a "Blueprint for APRN-PMH Workforce Development."
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4217, USA. nancyp@nursing.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Nancy P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Hanrahan
authors.forename: Kathleen R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Delaney
authors.forename: Gail W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Stuart
mesh_terms: D057179:Advanced Practice Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D018166:Health Care Reform; D006801:Humans; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015401:Nursing Administration Research; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D013192:Staff Development / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce