Forbes March 3, 2020
The number of licensed nurse practitioners has set another record, surpassing 290,000 in the last year, according to new licensing figures.
The latest survey from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners shows the ranks of the NP profession jumped nearly 8% to more than 290,000 as of December 2019 compared to 270,000 NPs in January 2019.
Nurse practitioners are advanced degree nurses that diagnose, prescribe medications and conduct physical exams and are used in an increasing number of healthcare settings. And demand for these health professionals is unprecedented in a variety of outpatient facilities as well as emerging new models of healthcare delivery in the retail setting.
Take CVS Health, which sees nurse practitioners as providing the bulk of medical...