Defining the acute in acute care nurse practitioner.

The role of the nurse practitioner in the tertiary care or hospital setting has become well established during the course of this decade. With the introduction of a national certifying examination for acute care nurse practitioners in 1995, it is important that the word acute be defined in a way that is acknowledged universally. Should an examination certifying acute care nurse practitioners contain critical care content? Are the terms acute care and critical care synonymous? The existing examination contains critical care content, but a review of relevant literature suggests a conflict. At times acute care and critical care are used interchangeably, and at other times they are discussed in a way that suggests they are two distinct specialties. This article presents the conflicting use of these two terms in the literature and provides a rationale for recognizing the differences. It is suggested that the definition of the word acute, as it is used in the title acute care nurse practitioner, be reexamined, and that either the content or the title of the certifying examination for acute care nurse practitioners be reconsidered.