This project will investigate the current state of training, licensure, reimbursement and practice location choices of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs). We will identify six states in which mental health APRNs are now practicing. We will interview key informants at training programs, state nursing associations, state licensing authorities, and third party payers in each state. We will determine, either from our key informants or from existing databases, the number of APRNs currently delivering mental health services in the state, the number being trained each year, and where they are choosing to practice. Our findings will help federal policymakers design incentives aimed at increasing access to community-based outpatient mental health services in rural areas.

Publications

• Are Advanced Practice Nurses a Solution to Rural Mental Health Workforce Shortages?
  Maine Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 04/2004
  This paper summarizes the clinical skills and prescriptive authority of advanced practice psychiatric nurses and investigates current trends in their geographic distribution to determine what their future role may be in addressing rural mental health needs.