Contact:
Norwegian Nurses Organisation (NNO)
Western Norway University of Applied Sciences

Role

The role of Advanced Practice Nursing in Norway has most recently explored and is currently in active development.  According to Holm Hansen et al. (2020) the role was most recently introduced through an extended pilot including both the nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist roles (Holm Hansen et al., 2020).  Through this extensive introduction, key barriers to developing the role have been identified.  One of the biggest gaps at this time is the lack of formal role protection in the country (Østvik, 2017).

Education, Certification, and Specialties

Both the bachelor and master’s level educational programs for registered nurses are regulated, creating a solid foundation for the advancement of nursing practice (Holm Hansen et al., 2020).  Since the master’s level degree has been available for nurses since 2015 which allows advanced practice nursing to be able to more easily embrace the APN role (Østvik, 2017). With the piloted roles described by Holm Hansen et al. (2020), advanced practice nursing in Norway has core curriculum and training at the master’s level, with 120 credits for program completion (WNU, 2022).  However because of the lack of formal recognition of the APN role, the APN educational curriculum is not yet nationally regulated (Østvik, 2017)

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References:
Holm Hansen, E., Boman, E., Bing-Jonsson, P., & Fagerstrom, L.M. (2020). Introducing nurse practitioners into Norwegian primary healthcare- Experiences and learning.  Research and Theory for Nursing Practice: An International Journal, 34(1) doi:10.1891/1541.6577.34.1.21

Østvik, E. (2017). Country Practice Profiles: Norway [Webpage]. NP / APN Network. Retrieved June 5, 2022 from: http://icn-apnetwork.org

Western Norway University of Applied Sciences [WNU] (2022). Advanced Practice Nursing. Website.  Retrieved June 4, 2022 from: https://www.hvl.no/en/studies-at-hvl/study-programmes/advanced-nursing-practice/.