The purpose of this assignment is to provide the student with an opportunity to explore the nurse practitioner (NP) practice requirements in his/her state of practice, NP competencies and leadership skills to develop a plan to support professional development.

Purpose 

The purpose of this assignment is to provide the student with an opportunity to explore the nurse practitioner (NP) practice requirements in his/her state of practice, NP competencies and leadership skills to develop a plan to support professional development. 

Activity Learning Outcomes 

Through this assignment, the student will demonstrate the ability to: 

1. Examine roles and competencies of advanced practice nurses essential to performing as leaders and advocates of holistic, safe, and quality care. (CO1)  
2. Analyze essential skills needed to lead within the context of complex systems. (CO3) 
3. Explore the process of scholarship engagement to improve health and healthcare outcomes in various settings. (CO4) 

 Requirements: 

1. The APN Professional Development Plan paper is worth 200 points and will be graded on the quality of the content, use of citations, use of Standard English grammar, sentence structure, and overall organization based on the required components as summarized in the directions and grading criteria/rubric. 
2. Submit the paper as a Microsoft Word Document, which is the required format at Chamberlain University. You are encouraged to use the APA Academic Writer and Grammarly tools when creating your assignment. 
3. Follow the directions below and the grading criteria located in the rubric closely. Any questions about this paper may be posted under the Q & A Forum or emailed to your faculty. 
4. The length of the paper should be 5-8 pages, excluding title page and reference page(s). 
5. Support ideas with a minimum of 3 scholarly resources. Scholarly resources do not include your textbook. You may need to use more than 3 scholarly resources to fully support your ideas. 
6. You may use first person voice when discussing information specific to your personal practice or skills.  
7. Current edition APA format is required with both a title page and reference page(s). Use the following as Level 1 headings to denote the sections of your paper (Level 1 headings use upper- and lower-case letters and are bold and centered): 
   • APN Professional Development Plan (This is the paper introduction. In APA format, a restatement of the paper title, centered and not bold serves as the heading of the introduction section) 
   • APN Scope of Practice 
   • Nurse Practitioner (NONPF) Core Competencies  
   • Leadership Skills 
   • Conclusion 

Directions: 

1. Introduction: Provide an overview of what will be covered in the paper. Introduction should include general statements on scope of practice, competencies, and leadership, and identification of the purpose of the paper. 
2. APN Scope of Practice: Research the Nurse Practice Act and APN scope of practice guidelines for the state in which you intend to practice after graduation. Describe the educational, licensure, and regulatory requirements for that state in your own words. Identify whether your state allows full, limited, or restricted NP practice. Discuss NP prescriptive authority in your state. Provide support from at least one scholarly source. Source may be the regulatory body that governs nursing practice in your state. 
3. Nurse Practitioner (NONPF) Core Competencies: Review the NONPF Core Competencies. Describe two competency areas you believe to be personal strengths and two competency areas in which you have opportunities for growth. Discuss two scholarly activities you could do during the master’s program to help yourself achieve NP competencies. Provide support from at least one scholarly source. Source may be NONPF Core Competencies document provided via the link in the week 2 readings. 
4. Leadership Skills: Analyze three leadership skills required to lead as an NP within complex systems. Describe two strategies you could use to help you develop NP leadership skills. Provide support from at least one scholarly source. Textbooks are not considered scholarly sources. 
5. Conclusion: Provide a conclusion, including a brief summary of what you discussed in the paper. 

 APA Formatting   

Formatting follows current edition APA Manual guidelines for  

1. title page 
2. running head 
3. body of paper (including citations and headings) 
4. reference page 

 Writing Mechanics  

Writing mechanics follow the rules of grammar, spelling, word usage, punctuation, and other aspects of formal written work as found in the current edition of the APA manual. The length of the paper is at least 5 pages but no more than 8 pages.