California’s Nurse Practitioner Workforce: Understanding Demographics, Education, and Scope of Practice

Date: 09/27/2024
Source: California’s Nurse Practitioner Workforce: Understanding Demographics, Education, and Scope of Practice
Author(s): Amy Quan, Jen Joynt, and Joanne Spetz

 

Nurse practitioners — often referred to as NPs — are the largest group of nonphysician primary care providers and play a growing role in filling gaps in health care provision in both primary care and behavioral health across California. NPs are registered nurses who have completed additional graduate education to prepare them to deliver a broad range of services including the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic illnesses. They provide a broad array of primary, specialty, and acute health services. To better understand the nurse practitioner workforce, the California Health Care Foundation and the University of California, San Francisco, conducted the Survey of California Nurse Practitioners and Nurse-Midwives from July 18, 2022, to March 31, 2023. Based on survey findings, CHCF published two reports on this important workforce: California’s Nurse Practitioner Workforce: Understanding Demographics, Education, and Scope of Practice. This report presents survey findings from practicing NPs, including information on their demographics, education, practice setting and environment, and characteristics of the patients they serve. Nurse Practitioners Practicing in Underserved Communities. This report focuses on NPs who provided patient care in communities they considered underserved.