Interesting Article About the Historical Beginnings of Advanced Practice Nursing in Honor of National Nurse Practitioner Week

Happy National Nurse Practitioner Week!  I found an interesting article about the first attempt to establish the Advanced Practice Nursing Role that actually preceded the excellent work of Loretta Ford and Dr. Henry K. Silver.  Thelma Ingles, RN and her physician colleague, Dr. Eugene A. Stead, Jr., established a Master's of Nursing program which admitted its first class in 1958.  According to the article it closed in 1962 because the NLN did not accredit the program.  The NLN and ANA first accredited MSN programs in the 1970s.  The collaboration between Ingles and Stead at the Duke program is credited with laying the groundwork which ultimately established both the Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant roles.  The complete article can be found at http://nurse-practitioners-and-physician-assistants.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/Back-to-the-Beginning.aspx .

Thank you for everything you do each day to improve the lives of your patients, educate the next generation of nurses, and advance the profession!

Take care,

Richard Brown