A CASN Task Force on Nurse Practitioner (NP) Education was struck in 2011 in response to a call from national nursing associations, educators, and nurse practitioners for national standards to guide NP education in Canada. Its mandate was to develop a national consensus-based framework of guiding principles and essential components for NP educational programs in this country.
The Task Force adopted an iterative process with three overlapping phases to carry out its mandate. Phases for this initiative included: 1) generating a preliminary framework of guiding principles and essential components; 2) building national consensus for the framework among NPs, NP educators, and representatives of relevant stakeholder groups; and, 3) refining the framework based on a broader consultation of stakeholders (i.e. nursing faculty, practicing NPs, nursing regulators, physicians, pharmacists, and employers).
