Nursing’s national accrediting bodies, including the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission, demand that nursing curriculum include and emphasize professional standards for advanced practice study. This new edition provides information on these professional standards by including chapters relevant to various aspects of advanced nursing practice, including changes in the national health care agenda, the 2010 Affordable Care Act, and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2010 report on the future of nursing. With the explosion of the DNP, the revision of the American Association of College’s of Nursing (AACN) Master’s Essentials, and the refinement and development of the Clinical Nurse Leader role, this text is a timely resource for the next generation of advanced practice nursing.