title: Acute care pediatric nurse practitioner: a practice analysis study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is the responsibility of certification organizations to provide psychometrically sound and legally defensible examinations. Practice research serves as the certification framework for validating advanced practice roles and updating national qualifying examinations. This national study describes the practice of the acute care pediatric nurse practitioner (ACPNP) since the inception of the certified pediatric nurse practitioner-acute care (CPNP-AC) examination in 2005.
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive analysis of the 2009 practice survey of U.S. ACPNPs (291 respondents) was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most ACPNP respondents were White women; the mean age was 40 years, and 47.9% had been formally educated as ACPNPs. More than 40% practiced in the Midwestern United States. Most respondents (86.2%) practiced in urban areas. Respondents reported spending 71% of practice time in inpatient settings. The most frequently cited areas of practice were critical care (27.5%), followed by emergency department (10.7%) and specialty practices.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In light of recent advanced practice regulatory role distinctions, this re-examination of the ACPNP practice 5 years after initiation of the CPNP-AC certification examination demonstrates changes in clinical practice and educational preparation requirements.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Reuter-Rice
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease / Q000451:nursing*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008008:Licensure, Nursing; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D064701:Pediatric Nurse Practitioners / Q000193:education / Q000592:standards; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology