By the early 1980s,
nurse practitioner education moved into graduate programs and by 1981, most
states required graduate degrees for nurse practitioner practice. In response to the scientific knowledge
explosion, programs kept adding new courses, expanding their length and their
credit loads. By the turn of the 21st century, most nurse
practitioner programs credit hours far exceeded those in other graduate
programs. At the same time there was a growing movement towards practice doctorates
in other professions and this led educators to think about new types of nurse
practitioner programs. By 2005, the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) became
the newest level of practitioner training, giving credit for the breadth of
content in the nurse practitioner programs.
kwaltos on 15 Sep 16This is an older but fascinating article about a midwife working in Gardener, Massachusetts in the 19th century. Hanna continued to attend births of mostly the immigrant population of the city despite being told by courts to cease. She was convicted of "practicing medicine without a license" and had to pay many fines and spend 3 months in a correctional facility. Note that the charges brought against her were never from clients, but from the physicians working in the area.
