What are the Nurse Practitioner Core Competencies?

By graduation, NP students should understand an NP’s role and responsibilities and share their perspectives with other disciplines. Core behaviors observed include the NP’s ability to describe their role, knowing the science behind the role, and analyzing literature on NP practice.

By graduation, NP students should engage with individuals and/or caregivers in establishing a caring relationship, communicating effectively, and integrating cultural competencies, which include patients’ spiritual preferences and spiritual needs. They must also collaborate with family members and share care plans.

NP graduates should demonstrate population health management. Their behaviors should demonstrate an understanding of the ethical, legal and social factors that affect populations. NPs must know how to advocate for patients and create health promotion programs.

By graduation, NP students should be able to integrate evidence-based practices and peer review knowledge to support and improve their clinical care.

By graduation, NP students should be able to demonstrate their knowledge of quality improvement and implement safety measures for providers, patients, populations and systems of care. Core behaviors NP students should demonstrate are defining, identifying, and applying quality improvement measures.

NP students learn communication skills to collaborate with other professional healthcare team members to improve the quality of patient care. The core behaviors NP students should demonstrate include communicating with peers, identifying key disparities and lack of access in communities, and practicing active listening among peers, patients and family members.

By graduation, NP students should demonstrate an understanding of healthcare systems, how to incorporate cost-effective care and how to improve systems through innovation and evidence-based practice. Core behaviors NP students should demonstrate include transitioning patients through the healthcare system, understanding billing to optimize reimbursements, and practicing value-based care.

By graduation, NP students should have a general understanding of technology and information literacy which includes telehealth, artificial intelligence (AI), and network security. NP students should demonstrate the ability to assess learning needs with digital and communication technologies for patients and families in addition to a self-assessment. NPs should collaborate with other professions to gain new technological skills, and evaluate and identify biases of AI and non-AI tools used in healthcare.

By graduation, NP students should remain professional and practice ethically, reflecting on the nursing mission to society. Core behaviors NP students should demonstrate are identifying and maintaining professional boundaries between the provider and patient, practicing with integrity with all stakeholders while incorporating a core commitment to diversity, equity, and integrity (DEI), and accepting accountability for clinical decisions.

NPs should continue to grow personally and professionally by participating in professional development and focusing on self-care. NPs should also continue to develop leadership skills.

Core behaviors NP students should demonstrate are self-awareness, knowing how and when to access support systems, and understanding the scope of practice as defined by the Consensus Model for APRNs.