Students flock to nurse practitioner programs as they see a future secure job situation. New York State's experience certainly mirrors this experience. In the last 5 to 10 years, the number of registered nurse practitioner programs has grown from 15 to 40. The State Education Department does not require national certification or testing of any type to receive certification to become a nurse practitioner. By virtue of completion of a state registered nurse practitioner program in New York State, a graduate becomes certified as an NP.

Nursing educators all over the country are concerned about the evaluation of quality standards for advanced practice. The recent activities of the National Council of State Boards to develop a national nurse practitioner licensing and/or certifying examination directs attention to the concern over consistent competencies across jurisdictions. Debate on this issue has focused on the need for second licensure or advanced certification instead of examining the root of the problem — identifiable, consistent competencies validated across programs and jurisdictions. Competencies must be defined and enacted by each program. Concern that programs have not included these competencies have some suggesting legislative mandate to insure a minimum standard of competency.

Although there is a need for an accrediting body, in addition to state regulating agencies, resources needed to implement accreditation activities must be considered. The human capital necessary for the preparation of documents, analysis of materials and production costs are enormous. The accreditation process must include data instruments and collection processes which are labor efficient. These instruments must be able to be used over time so that a profile of the program and/or school emerges clearly.

In the past accreditation activities were seen in a rather episodic context. One of the first questions a prospective faculty member asks when interviewing for a position is "when was the last time you had a site visit?" and "when will the next site visit be made?" Faculty often gage the type of work that will be asked of them based on the answer to those two questions. Accreditation to faculty means a set of laborious activities, including reports, meetings, review of programs, and sometimes changes in curricula. Depending on the size of the program, the faculty member may have a small or very substantive role in activities that continue for one or two years. Accreditation activities are seen as very labor intensive and the time detracts from other aspects of the faculty role including time for scholarly activity. The amount of time and commitment made to accreditation activities are often not reflected in promotion and tenure decisions at colleges and universities. As an administrator, I try to balance the need for school and university service activities and professional/faculty development activities essential to faculty retention and promotion.