Madison, WI The Wisconsin Nurses Association (WNA) is celebrating the enactment of the APRN Modernization Act which was signed into law today by Governor Tony Evers. Wisconsin is the 29th state to achieve full practice authority, bringing Wisconsinite’s access to services provided by Advanced Practice Registered Nurses.
With the enactment of the bill, Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) will now have a separate license and the ability to practice independently in four distinct clinical practice roles: Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) and Nurse Practitioner (NP). The new law authorizes the Wisconsin Board of Nursing to administer the conditions and criteria contained in the new law.
“We cannot say thank you enough to the Governor and our bill authors, Senator Pat Testin and Representative Tony Kurtz; Wisconsin Legislature for supporting this legislation. It has been a long journey to achieving consensus and we are pleased with the outcome. The major benefit to be realized is Wisconsinites gaining access to timely, quality, exceptional, and economical care delivered by a highly educated and experienced advanced practice registered nurse workforce. This will be especially true for our rural health communities and those populations with large health disparities”, states WNA Executive Director, Gina Dennik-Champion, RN, MSN, MSHA.
According to the Wisconsin Center for Nursing 2024 RN Workforce Survey, there are 9,127 nationally board-certified advanced practice registered nurses in Wisconsin representing 9.8 percent of the registered nurse workforce who are practicing in hospitals, labor and delivery, ambulatory surgical centers, primary care and specialty clinics, and long-term care.
