Published
I don't know what's what to be honest. I know when I was a paramedic we were "certified," and the year I let it lapse (after maintaining it for a long time and not using it) the state moved to "licensure." The only change, now, instead of a refresher every two years they have the option of doing it all CME or CME+Refresher. No big deal.
For the nurses, we're licensed and dubbed registered nurses (although there's no registry anymore), but when we get a master's from an approved course of study and pass the ANCC or related content exam we're then "certified" nurse practitioners.
IMO, I think it's kind of ridiculous really. I think NPs should be licensed generalists with a board certification in an area of specialty, i.e. everyone train a couple semesters or so for primary care and another year or two for specialty content.
NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN
10 Articles; 19,178 Posts
Found at AZ Nurses Assoc website under The Arizona Nurse Practitioner Council- local chapter of the Arizona Nurses Association
APRN Licensure vs APRN Certification
Nancy Chornick, PhD, RN, CAE
JONA'S Healthcare Law, Ethics, and Regulation / Volume 10, Number 4 / October–December 2008