Open Access Kent State (OAKS)

Psychiatric mental health advanced practice nursing has evolved in response to transformations in the healthcare environment and the needs of the population. The changes are both influenced and evidenced by the growth of the nurse practitioner role, standardized curricular competencies for all advanced practice nurses, attainment of prescriptive authority, and employment in a wider variety of settings than was the case when Dr. McBride and her colleagues evaluated the impact of a clinical nurse specialist. The purpose of this paper is to explore the changes in the role of the psychiatric mental health advanced practice nurse that have occurred in the U.S. since the first issue of Archives of Psychiatric Nursing was published in 1987.