Neuroscience Advanced Practice Provider Practice: Results of an American Association of Neuroscience Nurses Survey

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Advanced practice providers (APPs) play a critical role in neuroscience patient care and system-level leadership. Despite their growing presence, the practice of neuroscience APPs throughout the United States is underexplored. This study aims to describe the current practice for neuroscience APPs in the United States. METHODS: An online survey was developed using the 2006 American Association of Neuroscience Nurses advanced practice survey as a starting point. The peer-tested survey used snowball recruitment, with an initial email to American Association of Neuroscience Nurses members or customers who identified as APPs (n = 4950). The survey was open to any neuroscience APP. The survey collected demographic, current practice, and system-level role data. RESULTS: A total of 350 respondents completed the survey. Respondent roles were nurse practitioner (76.6%), clinical nurse specialist (20.9%), and physician assistant (2.6%). Most worked in hospital settings (83.1%) and practiced in inpatient (56.3%) or ambulatory (31.1%) settings, with the southern region of the United States (31.1%) having the highest representation. Common practice elements included patient evaluation, management, procedures (intraventricular catheters, intracranial monitoring devices), and billing and coding practices across roles. CONCLUSION: This survey highlights the diverse roles and practice contributions of neuroscience APPs. Findings underscore the need for standardized practice measures and further research to define and optimize APP integration into neuroscience care. The results provide insights into opportunities to support the development and recognition of neuroscience APPs’ impact on patient outcomes and health care systems.