Abstract
Background: In 2019, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) introduced a new vision for nursing education emphasizing competency-based education (CBE) to enhance preparation of a practice-ready Nurse Practitioner (NP) workforce1. The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) developed NP Role Core Competencies based on the new AACN Essentials. For Women’s Health Nurse Practitioners (WHNPs), defining population-specific competencies is essential to preparing practitioners who can meet the complex needs of women and gender-related health populations4.
Purpose: This initiative sought to identify NP core and population-specific behaviors to equip faculty with the tools for redesigning competency-based curricula.
Methods: The NONPF Curricular Leadership Committee (CLC) identified essential core competencies for NP practice. Each NP population was tasked with delineating unique aspects of care and associated competencies for their specialties2.
A team of WHNPs with clinical and academic expertise was formed to identify essential competencies for WHNP practice. Feedback was consolidated and shared with the CLC once consensus was established.
Results: The WHNP workgroup identified population-specific parameters and critical behaviors for competency assessment. This information was incorporated into The NONPF Competency-Implementation Guide3. The NONPF Guide also includes a preamble which defines the scope of each NP specialty, outlining population-specific age and acuity parameters for further clarity3.
Analysis of the population-focused submissions showed that NP scope varies across different populations but entry-to-practice competencies for NPs were largely congruent across the majority of the domains. The CLC’s ongoing efforts include identifying common critical curricular concepts and unique clinical concepts essential for population-specific programs.
Conclusion: WHNP programs must meet current academic and accreditation requirements, including CBE, to ensure a practice-ready workforce. Defining WHNP-specific competencies is a foundational step in implementing CBE. Faculty development is integral to this transition, ensuring educators are prepared to assess competency attainment and integrate innovative teaching strategies aligned with the Essentials. Future efforts will focus on creating faculty development resources and collaborative learning opportunities to sustain this transformation.
Notes
References:
1. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The Essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education.
2. Ainslie, M., Chan, T., Bigley, M.B. Defining population-specific nurse practitioner educational parameters. Nurse Educ. 2025;00(0):1-7. doi:10.1097/NNE.0000000000001884
3. National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (2024). Competency Implementation Guide for Nurse Practitioner Faculty.
4. National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health: Guidelines for Education and Practice, 2020.
Sigma Membership
Alpha Zeta
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Competence, Teaching and Learning Strategies, Faculty Development, Education of Nurse Practitioners, Curriculum, Nursing Education
Recommended Citation
Hickey, Mary T. and Fischer, Mary, "Redesigning Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Curricula: Defining Population-Specific Competencies" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 213.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/presentations_2026/213
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-08-25
Redesigning Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Curricula: Defining Population-Specific Competencies
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Background: In 2019, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) introduced a new vision for nursing education emphasizing competency-based education (CBE) to enhance preparation of a practice-ready Nurse Practitioner (NP) workforce1. The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) developed NP Role Core Competencies based on the new AACN Essentials. For Women’s Health Nurse Practitioners (WHNPs), defining population-specific competencies is essential to preparing practitioners who can meet the complex needs of women and gender-related health populations4.
Purpose: This initiative sought to identify NP core and population-specific behaviors to equip faculty with the tools for redesigning competency-based curricula.
Methods: The NONPF Curricular Leadership Committee (CLC) identified essential core competencies for NP practice. Each NP population was tasked with delineating unique aspects of care and associated competencies for their specialties2.
A team of WHNPs with clinical and academic expertise was formed to identify essential competencies for WHNP practice. Feedback was consolidated and shared with the CLC once consensus was established.
Results: The WHNP workgroup identified population-specific parameters and critical behaviors for competency assessment. This information was incorporated into The NONPF Competency-Implementation Guide3. The NONPF Guide also includes a preamble which defines the scope of each NP specialty, outlining population-specific age and acuity parameters for further clarity3.
Analysis of the population-focused submissions showed that NP scope varies across different populations but entry-to-practice competencies for NPs were largely congruent across the majority of the domains. The CLC’s ongoing efforts include identifying common critical curricular concepts and unique clinical concepts essential for population-specific programs.
Conclusion: WHNP programs must meet current academic and accreditation requirements, including CBE, to ensure a practice-ready workforce. Defining WHNP-specific competencies is a foundational step in implementing CBE. Faculty development is integral to this transition, ensuring educators are prepared to assess competency attainment and integrate innovative teaching strategies aligned with the Essentials. Future efforts will focus on creating faculty development resources and collaborative learning opportunities to sustain this transformation.
Description
National WHNP experts identified population parameters and critical behaviors aligned with the AACN Essentials to support competency-based education. Findings informed the NONPF Competency-Implementation Guide and provide a foundation for WHNP curricular redesign and faculty development.