Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Nurse practitioners and other advanced practice registered nurses

Education at a Distance: Virtual Classrooms Bring Healthcare Classes to Rural Areas
Highlights three university health professions programs that are using distance education to allow professionals to stay in their rural communities while earning a degree.
Author(s): Kate Menzies
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 02/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Tapping Nurse Practitioners to Meet Rising Demand for Primary Care
Discusses the use of advanced practice nurses, specifically nurse practitioners, to increase access to primary care for those residing in Health Professional Shortage Areas. Reports that nurse practitioners working in primary care are more likely than primary care physicians to work in rural areas. Suggests that the use of nurse practitioners and physician assistants could help reduce the primary care provider shortage in 2020 by two-thirds.
Author(s): Amanda Van Vleet, Julia Paradise
Date: 01/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
view details
The Obstetric Care Workforce in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and Rural Non-CAHs
Examines current obstetric practice models in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and other rural hospitals to understand obstetric care services and obstetric workforce issues. Reports on the types of clinicians providing obstetric care in rural hospitals, including obstetricians, family physicians, certified nurse midwives, and general surgeons.
Author(s): Katy Kozhimannil, Michelle Casey, Peiyin Hung, Shailendra Prasad, Ira Moscovice
Date: 11/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
view details
Models to Estimate the Economic Impact of a Rural Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant
Discusses the advantages of using nurse practitioners and physician assistants for the provision of primary care services to meet the workforce challenges in rural settings and how they contribute economically to the community.
Additional links: Summary
Author(s): Fred C. Eilrich, Gerald A. Doeksen, Cheryl F. St. Clair
Date: 08/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Rural Health Works
view details
Support for Rural Recruitment and Practice among U.S. Nurse Practitioner Education Programs
Examines nurse practitioner (NP) education programs across the U.S. to identify those actively promoting NP practice in rural areas. Describes their use of education methods that may promote rural practice and identifies barriers to recruiting rural students and providing rural NP clinical training.
Author(s): Susan M. Skillman, Louise Kaplan, C. Holly A. Andrilla, Stefanie Ostergard, Davis G. Patterson
Date: 05/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
State Variability in Supply of Office-based Primary Care Providers: United States, 2012
Data brief covering the supply of primary care providers. Includes national rural-urban comparisons for primary care providers per 100,000 population and for use of physician assistants and nurse practitioners in physician practices. See Figure 4.
Author(s): Esther Hing, Chun-Ju Hsiao
Date: 05/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
view details
Running the Numbers: The Maldistribution of Health Care Providers in Rural and Underserved Areas in North Carolina
Discusses the maldistribution of health care professionals related to population needs in rural North Carolina. Highlights physician workforce shortages in primary care, general surgery, psychiatry, licensed nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
Author(s): Julie C. Spero, Erin P. Fraher
Citation: North Carolina Medical Journal, 75(1), 74-79
Date: 01/2014
Type: Document
view details
Projecting the Supply and Demand for Primary Care Practitioners Through 2020
Examines the adequacy of the future supply of primary care providers to meet the projected demand for primary care. Includes information on physician, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant supply and demand. Discusses likely causes of growth in demand for primary care, and potential impact of increased use of NPs and PAs on alleviating the primary care physician shortage. Section 8 of the full report discusses geographic disparities.
Date: 11/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
view details
Most Family Physicians Work Routinely With Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, or Certified Nurse Midwives
Reports that more than half of family physicians work with nurse practitioners, physician assistants, or certiļ¬ed nurse midwives, and doing so helps ensure access to health care services, particularly in rural areas.
Author(s): Lars E. Peterson, Robert L. Phillips, James C. Puffer, Andrew Bazemore, Stephen Petterson
Citation: Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 26(3), 244-245
Date: 2013
Type: Document
view details
Achieving Health Equity through Nursing Workforce Diversity: Eleventh Report to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Congress
Summarizes progress in nursing workforce diversity over the past 10 years. Highlights Advanced Practice RNs who are independent care providers who often locate in underserved and minority communities, the growth of online nursing education to rural communities, and recruiting and retaining nursing professionals in rural and underserved areas. Mentions rural throughout.
Date: 2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice
view details