In 10 years, nurse practitioners nearly double in US

Over the last decade, the ranks of licensed nurse practitioners have nearly doubled in the U.S., increasing from 106,000 in 2004 to 205,000 by the end of last year, according to data from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

“The explosive growth of the nurse practitioner profession is a public health boon considering our nation’s skyrocketing demand for high-quality, accessible care,” AANP president Ken Miller, PhD, RN, said in the report. Now the challenge will be to push for federal and state laws allowing nurse practitioners to provide more full, direct primary care, he said in the report.

2015 marks the 50th year nurse practitioner has been a licensed profession.

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