ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSING QUESTION
SET WITH RATIONALES AND HEALTHCARE
POLICY, ETHICS, AND PROFESSIONAL
PRACTICE REVIEW 2026
◉ What are the characteristics of nursing specialties?
Answer: They intersect with another body of knowledge, impact
nursing practice, and support direct care rendered by other
registered nurses.
◉ Name a former classic nursing specialty.
Answer: Pediatrics, Psychiatric/mental health, Obstetrics,
Community/public health, or Medical-surgical nursing.
◉ What does advanced practice nursing involve?
Answer: It includes specialization and expansion of knowledge,
legitimizing role autonomy, and integrating a broad range of
theoretical, research-based, and practical knowledge.
◉ What is subspecialization in advanced practice nursing?
Answer: Further expansion of knowledge and skill in a delimited
clinical area.
, ◉ What are the four stages in the evolution of advanced practice
nursing?
Answer: Stage I: Innovative practice opportunities, Stage II:
Specialties in transition, Stage III: Emerging APN roles, Stage IV:
Established APN roles.
◉ What characterizes Stage I of advanced practice nursing
evolution?
Answer: The development of a specialty focus, with nurses
expanding practice to meet specialty care needs.
◉ What is hospitalist practice?
Answer: A model where inpatient management is transferred from
primary care physicians to hospitalists.
◉ What is the role of the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM)?
Answer: To support a collaborative practice model and define the
roles of NPs and PAs in hospital medicine.
◉ Why is hospitalist practice considered a Stage I specialty?
Answer: It is not yet a nursing specialty, and unique distinctions
between APN hospitalists and physician hospitalists have not been
made.
SET WITH RATIONALES AND HEALTHCARE
POLICY, ETHICS, AND PROFESSIONAL
PRACTICE REVIEW 2026
◉ What are the characteristics of nursing specialties?
Answer: They intersect with another body of knowledge, impact
nursing practice, and support direct care rendered by other
registered nurses.
◉ Name a former classic nursing specialty.
Answer: Pediatrics, Psychiatric/mental health, Obstetrics,
Community/public health, or Medical-surgical nursing.
◉ What does advanced practice nursing involve?
Answer: It includes specialization and expansion of knowledge,
legitimizing role autonomy, and integrating a broad range of
theoretical, research-based, and practical knowledge.
◉ What is subspecialization in advanced practice nursing?
Answer: Further expansion of knowledge and skill in a delimited
clinical area.
, ◉ What are the four stages in the evolution of advanced practice
nursing?
Answer: Stage I: Innovative practice opportunities, Stage II:
Specialties in transition, Stage III: Emerging APN roles, Stage IV:
Established APN roles.
◉ What characterizes Stage I of advanced practice nursing
evolution?
Answer: The development of a specialty focus, with nurses
expanding practice to meet specialty care needs.
◉ What is hospitalist practice?
Answer: A model where inpatient management is transferred from
primary care physicians to hospitalists.
◉ What is the role of the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM)?
Answer: To support a collaborative practice model and define the
roles of NPs and PAs in hospital medicine.
◉ Why is hospitalist practice considered a Stage I specialty?
Answer: It is not yet a nursing specialty, and unique distinctions
between APN hospitalists and physician hospitalists have not been
made.
