Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner: The 2018 Practice Analysis

Practice research serves as the certification framework for validating advanced practice roles and updating national qualifying examinations. This national study informed an update of the Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - Acute Care (CPNP-AC) examination content outline. A descriptive analysis of a survey completed in 2018 by 373 pediatric nurse practitioners (PNP) practicing as an acute care role (AC). Respondents were primarily females aged 25 to 34 years (35.4%) and formally educated as AC PNPs (84.2%) and held the CPNP-AC credential (98.9%). Most respondents (83.6%) practiced in urban areas and spent 84% of their time in direct patient care with 74% working in inpatient settings. The majority (87%) worked in subspecialty practice such as critical care (18.5%) and cardiac intensive care (12.3%). This is the fourth practice analysis of the AC PNP role that demonstrates continuous evolution in clinical practice, educational preparation, and subspecialty practice distribution.