A historical perspective of the women's health nurse practitioner.

Full Abstract

There are more than 12,000 women's health nurse practitioners (WHNPs) currently certified by the National Certification Corporation (NCC) and practicing in a wide range of roles. The purpose of this article is to describe the historical development of the WHNP specialty, and to review the evolution of the specialty from an initially very focused practice in the area of family planning into obstetric and gynecologic care to today's more diffuse role inclusive of primary care. Women's health nurse practitioners must broaden their educational background to include the lifespan of women, not just the reproductive years. With the inclusion of chronic disease management of the middle-aged and elderly woman, WHNPs will provide more comprehensive and integrative health care to women in all areas of the United States.

Author information

Author/s: Kass-Wolff, Jane H (JH); Lowe, Nancy K (NK);

Affiliation: Women, Children, and Family Health, College of Nursing, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. jane.kass-wolff(-atsign-)ucdenver.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Historical Article; Journal Article

Journal: The Nursing clinics of North America (Nurs Clin North Am), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Sep; vol 44 (issue 3) : pp 271-80

Dates: Created 2009/08/17; Completed 2009/08/27;

PMID: 19683089, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 8/27/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.